Deserving
by heartlandwriters
Summary: Set during season 9. Alternate story-line. Lou lands herself in a situation from where there's no escape. Can Lou protect her family and get through all the pitfalls, or will everything end up falling apart? A/N: This story is inspired by and dedicated to Michelle Morgan, who is on a crusade to end domestic violence and abuse. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

"Please what? I'll only stay for a little while. Besides the house looks empty." He stood there, waiting for an answer.

That was just it: it wasn't. Georgie was upstairs and if Warren got angry suddenly, Georgie would witness everything. "It's not. My daughter is home. Please, Warren, come back another time. I promise we'll make it work. We'll head out to the dude ranch, you and I can have a relaxing dinner—"

"Why not here and why not now?" He let out angrily.

Lou stopped in her tracks. She had to be careful with what she said now. "Okay, you know what, forget I said anything. Let's go in, I can pour us a glass."

"But you did say something. I wanna know why you said it, _Lou_." The way he said her name made Lou uncomfortable. He put an emphasis on it, and at the end of his speech.

"I didn't mean anything by it, but—"

Suddenly he had Lou by her throat. He pulled her close and whispered in her ear. "I don't like to fight, Lou. Never say no again, and everything will be fine."

Lou struggled to speak. Her voice came out muffled. Warren suddenly let her go and she stumbled back, catching her breath. Her hand was at her throat. She tried to rub it better where he had grabbed her, hoping to somehow eradicate any bruising that may occur.

The stairs suddenly creaked and Georgie came downstairs. Lou turned around, her eyes wide. "Sweetie, go upstairs. I'll be up in a minute."

Georgie sensed something was wrong. Lou seemed very frightened…Georgie knew she couldn't leave the room. And was that a bruise on her chest? "Mom?" Georgie looked from Lou, then to the man standing in front of her mother. He looked angry, his breathing heavy. Georgie didn't know what she was supposed to say or do in this situation…eventually she spoke to him. "Who are you?"

"Warren Bennett." He said coldly.

"Well, _Warren_ , my mom and I were just about to head out into town…and we can't just leave you in an empty house. Maybe you should leave." Georgie asserted.

Lou stole a glance at Georgie, then turned to Warren. "We were headed into Calgary. Don't suppose you'd like to come with us?" Lou played along.

"No." He said abruptly. "Ah…I mean- I should get going." He said gruffly.

Lou nodded. She watched as Warren walked out the door and made his way to his truck. He got in and drove away.

Lou and Georgie were alone in the house now. Lou held her hands loosely together, fidgeting a little. She turned around to face Georgie, only to find her as confused and scared as Lou was herself.

"Mom. Who was that?"

"He's a friend."

"You mean…boy…friend?"

Lou nodded rigidly. She was shaken up by Georgie's encounter with Warren. She had hoped they hadn't met as soon as they did…she wasn't sure how long this would last. Involving her daughters would only complicate things.

"Okay, and if you're- together, why did the both of you look so tensed up? Is everything okay?"

"Yes!" Lou said with a little too much excitement in her voice.

There was a pause. Then, "Is he hurting you?"


	2. Chapter 2

Lou was taken aback. She hadn't expected Georgie to pinpoint it so precisely and so quickly. "What!? Sweetie, no. He's not. I'm fine, alright?" Lou tried to reassure.

Georgie didn't want to press on too much. She was about to let it go when she saw Lou adjusting her hair, bringing locks of it to the front.

 _Lou never does that…_

While Lou adjusted her hair, Georgie caught sight of the bruise again. This time it was much clearer, and it was definitely real. "Mom— is that a bruise?"

Lou stopped. She had seen it. "Sweetheart, it's not what you think. Please don't worry."

Georgie saw the panic in her mother's eyes. They betrayed what she was saying. Georgie could tell how afraid Lou was. "Leave him," Georgie said firmly.

"I can't. This is...this is right for me."

Georgie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Mom, are you insane? Dad never, ever raised his voice with you, and now you're just accepting this? All of this!? And how long has this been happening? Mom, answer me."

Lou avoided answering the question. "Georgie, how do I explain to you— fights happen in relationships. People can't always get along, right? This is nothing to worry about. Just let it go."

"He's abusing you!" Georgie let out angrily. "You want me to let that go? I'm going to tell Amy. She'll know what to do. _You_ clearly won't do anything about it."

Georgie headed for the door, when Lou reached for her arm and gently spoke to her. "Sweetheart please don't say anything. I'm begging you." There was a pleading in Lou's voice.

"Don't say anything? And what, just wait it out until someday he decides to kill you? What will I do then? The day he loses control, mom, is the day where everything will be over. And— just answer me this: what if I came home everyday with new bruises and marks all over my body? How would you feel? Would you just sit around, and not say anything?"

Lou was about to answer. But she stopped and looked down. Georgie had a point. If Georgie had ever come home with bruises like hers, Lou would go ballistic. She wouldn't stop until she found out who hurt her daughter, and she wouldn't rest until she brought them to justice.

"Right. That's what I thought," Georgie said.

"Honey I'm begging you, don't say anything to Amy about this. I'll sort it out, there's nothing for you to worry about." Lou reasoned. She paused a moment. "Come here." Lou brought Georgie into an embrace, her hand resting protectively around her daughter's head.


	3. Chapter 3

Georgie had gone back into her room, saying she had a book report due the next day. But Lou knew there was nothing due at school tomorrow, and that Georgie just wanted some privacy, some time alone to process everything. Lou allowed her daughter the time she needed. She needed to do the same. _Should I go talk to Georgie? No...we'll just argue, and she doesn't need that right now._

Georgie wanted Lou to leave Warren. Truth be told, so did she...but she couldn't. There was no way of knowing how he'd react, or if he'd even let her go. That would definitely make things worse, and Lou didn't know what she'd do if he got mad and hurt her, or worse, hurt her family.

Lou was standing in front of her dresser, looking at herself in the mirror. She studied her face. It was tired and thin, and she looked like she had been drained of blood. But there was no reason for that. She was fine, right? She continued to stare, continued to scrutinize. Where was the woman who always spoke her mind? Where was the woman who would never stand any injustice done to her? That woman was gone, Lou decided, and Lou was done searching for her. This was her new self, the Lou she'd have to get used to if she wanted to be safe around Warren, if she wanted to keep her family out of harm's way. So yes, she'd take his abuse if it meant he didn't lay a hand on her daughters. But there was no knowing how far he'd go; Lou barely knew him.

She pulled her shirt sleeve up to reveal the bruises he gave her only a week ago. They had gotten into an argument, and she said the wrong thing at the wrong time, and he was provoked. He grabbed onto her arms, squeezing them tight and not letting go. Lou remembered whimpering, crying out in pain, "You're hurting me. Warren, please stop." And he just looked back at her, not showing any emotion. The apathy on his face unnerved Lou more than what he was actually doing. She had been left feeling breathless and her heartbeat was rocketing. She was gasping for air when something in his demeanor shifted. He was suddenly concerned for her, asking if she needed something, and that he was sorry.

Lou scowled and roughly brought her sleeve back down. She suddenly remembered the new marks, and she knew she had to hide them. She took her foundation and quickly dabbed some makeup onto her neck. There, she was all set...but what if the family noticed the makeup? What if they wondered _why_ it was there? Lou pulled open her wardrobe and pulled out a high neck sweater. This brought her double assurance of no one being able to see through the facade.

Georgie would definitely notice, but that wouldn't make a difference as she already knew the truth. It might make her more agitated though, seeing her mom being extra careful with her dress choice. Lou knew Georgie wanted to tell someone else about the situation, but Lou had made her promise against it, and her daughter had agreed. But Lou worried how long she would comply with this promise.

Lou remembered the first time she had met Warren. It was at Maggie's. He was so charming and he was so engaging. She had noticed something was off about him, though. She wasn't sure what it was, and she couldn't pinpoint it, so she had chosen to ignore it. Lou felt it was her imagination, that it was just because this was her first time dating after the separation, that the weird vibe she was getting from being with him was coming from her, and that it was her fault. She now realized she should've followed her instinct. It would've saved her the heartache, all the sleepless nights, all that restlessness and constant fear.

Lou figured maybe she deserved the pain he was causing her...after the separation, Lou hadn't felt like herself. She felt as if her failed marriage dictated that every other part of her life was a failure. This new Lou _deserved_ to be treated this way, and so she never fought back. But, no matter how worthless she felt as an individual, she was still a mother, and she knew that _that_ woman needed to be kept safe for two reasons: Georgie and Katie.

Sometimes Lou wished her daughter wasn't so perceptive and all-knowing about _everything_. Yes, now she had someone who knew her secret, who could help her if she needed it, but….this was her daughter. Her _young_ daughter who had already been through so much in her life, and she didn't deserve any more heartache. Lou knew she had to protect Georgie and Katie at all costs, no matter what. She would not let them get hurt. She knew she had to end things with Warren, even if that came at a price to her own safety.


	4. Chapter 4

Georgie was sitting at her desk, staring down at blank note sheets for the past twenty minutes. She'd made an excuse about homework and then walked up to her room to be alone. Lou hadn't questioned it, and had given her the privacy she needed. Georgie had promised to not say anything to anyone about Warren without Lou's permission. So how could she convince her mom to speak up for herself? Georgie knew that Lou was trying to protect her and Katie, but what of the dangers that lay ahead for Lou from not saying anything? Lou needed to tell someone, Georgie decided. It didn't matter who, really, just as long as they got the help they needed.

Why didn't her mother realize it wasn't just about her and Katie? If something were to happen to her mother, Georgie had no idea what she'd do. Who would she turn to for support? Lou was her mom; her everything. Lou's arms were Georgie's place of warmth and comfort, Lou's kind words were Georgie's saviours and Lou's smile could cure any hurt she was going through. If Georgie lost her mother, what would she do? The mere thought of losing her mom reduced Georgie to a panic. Tears slipped onto her cheeks faster than she could dry them off.

Georgie thought about her parents' situation. If they hadn't separated, then none of this would be happening. If only her parents had tried hard enough. They loved each other, right? That's the only thing that mattered. Georgie thought maybe she was too young to try to understand what had gone wrong in her parents' marriage. Even today, they loved each other. She could tell they'd never stopped, so love hadn't been enough to keep them together. But there were years of behind them, and her dad had taken care of her mom well. So what of Warren? Lou barely knew him; they were definitely not in love, so where was the guarantee he'd keep her happy? In fact, there was no question of it. Lou was miserable with him. Georgie could tell Lou was different now. She was never one to adjust well with change, and this change definitely rocked her to her core.

A few moments later, she walked out of her room and headed downstairs. Georgie headed towards Lou's room. She knocked.

"Come in," came her mother's voice.

Georgie opened the door and walked into the room. "Hey mom? I wanted to talk to you."

Lou looked up from her computer. "Sweetheart, is everything okay?"

"Yeah! Of course, it's just, um….about earlier today. Look, I know you don't want to say anything, and I get that you're trying to protect us, but Lou, what if he….what about your safety? Where does that come in?"

"Georgie, what are you talking about? I'm going to be fine-"

"No! You're not! I saw what happened out there, okay? I know what was happening! It's a clear case of domestic violence!"

"Georgie, honey, keep your voice down." Lou pleaded.

"Fine, but mom, you need to tell someone what's going on, or else I will."

"Sweetheart, you-"

"I know what I promised. But I realize now that was wrong. Mom, you may only care about your daughters, but guess what? I am worried about you. And if I ever lost you-"

"Georgie, don't say that-"

"Mom, please, talk to Amy, talk to Tim and Jack, but please find help. Please?"

Lou stopped a moment.

"Georgie, listen. You know this isn't my fault, at least I hope….but, not everyone will understand, okay? And as for….anything happening to me, it won't, okay? I'll be fine. I'm going to end things with him as soon as I possibly can, no matter what. You don't need to worry anymore, okay?"

Georgie sighed, relieved. "Oh. Well, okay then. Mom, when?"

"Soon. Very soon. There's nothing to worry about."

"Okay, but you'll do it safely? Preferably at Maggie's? Someplace he can't-" Georgie broke off, not wanting to say it.

"I will. I promise sweetie." Lou took Georgie's hand in hers and kissed it lightly.

A few hours later, the entire family was seated to dinner. Ty and Jack were engaged in conversation, Amy and Tim were discussing the rodeo school. Katie was quietly eating her dinner. All was fine with the family, except for the tension looming between Lou and Georgie.

Lou was quietly staring at her plate, poking the food around with her fork, but not really eating. She was too tense to eat. Lou knew she needed to figure out a way to end things with Warren. She knew it wasn't safe for her to stay with him. But what if he refused? What if he didn't let her? That thought scared Lou more than anything.

Jack noticed Lou wasn't eating. He called out her name. "Lou?"

Lou didn't hear him.

He called again, this time louder. This time, Lou heard. She jolted. "Yes Grandpa?"

Jack leaned in. "Everything okay, Lou?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired." Lou responded.

"Are you sure everything's okay? You seem off. You've been like this for days," Amy said, concerned.

Suddenly aware of all the attention on her, Lou knew she had to conduct herself reasonably. She casually shrugged her shoulders. "Of course everything's okay, Amy. I just have so much to do...what with the dude ranch and Maggie's. I'm just under a bit of stress, that's all."

"So, Tim, you good to head out tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, Jack. I'll have my truck ready." Tim responded. "We'll be out by sunrise."

"You know, you guys, you don't have to go," Lou said, partly because she felt she needed her father and grandfather's security as she dealt with Warren.

"Oh, Lou, if you're worried about Jack, don't be. I'll take care of him, don't worry," Tim reassured.

"Dad, but-"

"Lou, we'll both be fine. Don't worry. We'll be back in a few days," Jack reassured as well.

"Fine. I just wish you wouldn't go helping every other person who asks for it," Lou let out, frustrated. Lou looked over at Georgie, who hadn't said a word all evening. Lou knew exactly what was weighing on her and she blamed herself for letting Georgie find out about any of this. It wasn't fair to her daughter. No child should have to bear that burden. Self-consciously, Lou brought her sweater sleeve down to her wrists to make sure nobody saw the marks on there, however light they may be now.

Everyone had dispersed quietly after dinner. Katie and Georgie were in their rooms, Jack was in his own room, Tim had left to go to Big River, and Ty had gone to the loft. Amy had stayed back to help with the dishes.

Amy noticed Lou was agitated. She kept pulling her sleeves down, she kept adjusting the neckline of her high neck. What was going on with her? "Lou? Quit it out."

"Quit what out, Amy?"

"You keep adjusting your sleeve and your neckline. What's going on? Are you feeling okay?"

Lou tensed up. She lied, "Yes, I am. This sweater is just really itchy."

Amy laughed. "Okay, if you say so...hey, I noticed something was off with Georgie tonight. Is everything okay between you too?"

"Yeah, we're...fine. But you're right, she's been a little off all day. I need to ask her what's wrong."

"You're lying,"Amy said plainly.

"What? Why would I be lying?"

"Something's going on. You just won't tell me. I need to know what it is."

"Amy, it's….." Lou said. Inwardly, she sighed to herself. If only Amy knew….should Lou tell her? No, no way. There was no need to involve Amy in all of this. It would soon be over anyways.

Amy thought a moment, and then continued, "You know….when we were younger, and we used to share all of our problems with each other? There'd be no secrets between us?"

"Amy, where are you going with this?"

"Look, I know you. You keep your problems bottled up inside, and…"

"Amy, that is enough! Nothing is wrong," Lou said crossly.

"Okay, see, you're getting upset. You've been like this for days. What's going on? Is it something to do with Peter, or...something with Georgie's school?"

"Amy, please. Not everyone has it as easy as you, okay? Some people's lives are much more complicated. Just because I seem off, it doesn't necessarily mean that something's wrong."

"Okay, Lou! I get it. I can never get through to you, can I? I'm going in to bed." Amy threw the dishcloth onto the counter and walked away.

"Amy, wait!" Lou called out. "Please, don't be mad. There's just so much going on right now."

"No, you know what Lou? I've had enough for one night. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right….I love you," Lou let out as an apology.

Amy was out the door in a blink of an eye. She probably didn't even hear the _I love you._ Lou couldn't bring herself to say anything to Amy. What if her sister didn't understand? What if she blamed her for putting her family in danger? Lou blamed herself, but placing blame on yourself was much easier than having someone else point a finger on you...


	5. Chapter 5

Lou sunk to the floor by the sink. She put her head in her hands. What was she doing? Getting angry at Amy, lying to everyone at home….Lou didn't like where this was headed. She didn't like this new situation. Georgie's words rung in her ears. _The day he loses control, mom, is the day where everything will be over._ Lou knew she needed to end things with Warren, and she needed to do it fast. She couldn't wait any longer. Lou took out her phone and texted Warren, asking if she could come over.

His reply took less than a minute. Lou expected as much; he was a fast replier. He said to come over whenever. Lou looked at the clock. It was almost nine. Lou quickly went into her room and got her purse. She didn't check on Katie because Georgie was looking after her. Lou headed out the front door straight away, not letting anyone know where she was going. In the rush, she left her phone at home.

Lou got into her SUV and drove to the apartment. It took no more than fifteen minutes. Lou parked her SUV on the side of the road and then made her way to the third floor of Warren's apartment building. Lou was about to buzzer when a young couple made their way out. Lou took the opportunity and she went through. She walked to the elevator and pressed for the third floor. She felt butterflies in her stomach; it was as if they were warning her not to go in. Suddenly Lou remembered what she had said to Georgie, about doing this in a public space, somewhere he couldn't lay a hand on her. _It's too late now, he already knows I'm coming…._

Lou arrived at his apartment and took a deep breath. She knocked.

He answered the door almost right away. Lou jolted when she heard the lock switch. When the door opened she forced a tight smile to her face. "Hi."

He grunted. "Come in." When Lou stepped in, he quickly asked her, "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Warren, look—I want to be completely honest with you. I just don't think it's working out with you and me."

"What? What's not working out?"

"Just...us. Before we move forward, I need to get the divorce finalized, or else there could be problems with my kids' custody."

"That has nothing to do with us, though."

"No, it does. But I'm not saying no forever. And it's not just that...I made a mistake getting into a relationship, when really, I should be focusing on my kids' wellbeing."

"Where does that leave us?"

Lou saw he was getting agitated. She had to think fast. "Warren, look—"

"No, no. Don't give me that, okay? I get it. You don't want to be with me."

Lou breathed in sharply.

"It's because of this morning, isn't it? Because I came over without calling. Well, I won't do that anymore. I get that you're extremely busy, and that you have your daughters to worry about, but….we can make this work. I know it," he said with a lot of conviction.

"Warren, you're not listening to me. This has nothing to do with this morning, or….or—"

"Or what? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, it's—"

Warren cut her off by slamming his hand onto her chest, making her fall to the floor. "You want to leave so badly, then just say it!" He bellowed.

Lou scuffled back. "Warren, calm down—please! I need to get home to my girls. Please, my daughters are waiting at home for me!" Lou pleaded.

He walked over, grabbed her by the shoulders and stood her up. He brought his hand to the back of her head and pulled her hair back violently. She cried out in pain. What happened after that was a blur.

She came back into consciousness when she heard someone come into the apartment. In a daze, she looked over. It was someone Lou was sure she recognized, someone she had seen around Warren's building before….but she couldn't quite make out the person. Her vision was hazy and her head was killing her.

As if in a dream, she watched as the man approached Warren. They exchanged some words—angrily. Warren eventually backed away. He left his apartment. The neighbour approached Lou. She moved back instantly, but when she saw he didn't mean any harm, she stopped. He told her to stay still because if she didn't, her wounds would get worse. Wounds? What wounds? Lou moved a hand to her stomach, and she could feel something. She brought her hand back, her fingers stained with blood.

He saw her begin to fret. "Hey...hey you're okay. I'm calling for help. You'll be at a hospital in no time, okay?" He consoled Lou.

Lou looked at the man. She nodded slightly. "Okay."

On the other side of town, Georgie was asleep in her bed, having nightmares.

 _Lou walked into the house, injured and upset. She was breathing hard. Georgie ran up to her and asked what had happened. Lou's only reply was, "I deserved this." Georgie asked again, and she shook her head, whimpering, and she gave the same reply._

Georgie gasped awake. Georgie looked at her clock. It was five in the morning...she figured she may as well get up now, so she got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. Twenty minutes later, she got dressed and was about to head out to the barn when she realized Lou's door was swinging wide open. Georgie knew something was off, because Lou never left her door open at night, and she couldn't be awake yet. Lou usually got up at six.

She headed toward her mom's room only to find it empty, the lights still on. Georgie's heart constricted inside her chest. She walked forward and found that Lou's phone was at home. She picked it up and unlocked it. There were texts from Warren….Georgie scrolled up and saw that Lou had asked to come over the night before because she wanted to talk.

 _Talk about what?_

Suddenly it dawned on Georgie. Her heart was beating so fast, and she felt so light headed that she couldn't stand on her own anymore. She held onto Lou's bed frame and stood there a second, trying to collect herself. What would Georgie do now? Jack and Tim had already left town that morning, so they wouldn't be able to help. Why had Lou left her phone at home? And why hadn't she come home all night?

 _No….mom, what have you done?_


	6. Chapter 6

Georgie ran out into the living room. She put on her shoes and made her way out of the house toward Amy and Ty's loft. Georgie knocked and called out. "Amy? Ty? Are you guys up?" She walked to the top of the stairs. "Amy? Ty?"

"Hey...Georgie, what's wrong?" Ty said, getting up.

"Georgie, what is it?" Amy asked, concerned. "Everything okay?"

"No! No, it's Lou. She's gone—she hasn't come home since last night and she's left her phone at home, so I can't even contact her," Georgie answered in a fury.

"What time?" Amy asked, getting upset.

"The texts said about nine pm."

Amy breathed out. That was right after they had their fight. "Texts—who was she texting?"

"Her boyfriend," Georgie answered.

"Her what!? She never told—"

"No, Amy listen. There's a reason. He's abusive— he's scary and controlling and he hurts her... Not just physically. Yesterday, I saw them talking at the house. He left when I came down, but Lou was frantic. I asked if he was hurting her, and she outright said no. I believed her then, thinking I just got the wrong idea, but I caught sight of a bruise, and it was obvious what had happened to her."

"He's...he's abusing her?" Amy stuttered in disbelief. No wonder Lou had been so agitated for the last couple of weeks….or had it been even longer? Amy couldn't remember.

"From the texts, it looks like she went to break up with him, but...she's obviously not back yet. He might not have let her, or….what do we do?"

"We need to call the hospital," Ty decided.

"What?!" Amy and Georgie both exclaimed at once.

Ty looked at them. "Look, she's been gone since last night. We have no idea where she is... _anything_ could have happened. What else do we do?"

Georgie opened the phone app on her mother's phone, which she had brought with her from the house. Her fingers shook as she punched in the numbers and she put her mom's cell phone to her ear.

While the phone was ringing, her heart was beating like it had never before. The receptionist picked up on the third ring. Georgie began, "Hi, I'd like to know if Lou Fleming has been admitted here...I have reason to believe she may hurt."

"Who is this speaking?" A brisk voice said back.

"I'm her daughter, Georgie Fleming Morris."

"Alright hun, I'll check for you," said the voice on the other end, now softened.

Georgie waited and waited for what seemed like forever. The receptionist came back on the line. "Yes, she's been admitted here."

"She was!? What happened to her?" Georgie exclaimed, her voice panicked.

"She came in with some gashes on her abdomen and cuts and bruises all over her body. My colleagues believe it may have been a domestic violence case…"

Georgie tensed up. She breathed in sharply. "You're right, it is. Um, is she going to be alright?"

"Yes, she's stable now. Nothing to worry about at this stage."

"Can I come and see her?"

"Of course."

Georgie switched off the phone, her eyes brimmed with tears. "I was right. She's hurt, Amy! The nurse said she has gashes on her stomach and cuts and bruises and—"

"Okay, Georgie. It's okay. I'll go with you," Ty answered.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I need to get dressed and I'll be out in a minute. Amy, you should go back to the house and look after Katie," Ty said.

"Yeah, I will. I will." Amy nodded.

In less than ten minutes, Ty and Georgie were out the door. They climbed into Ty's truck and were on their way to Cross Bow Hospital.

Ty was concerned how Georgie would react when she saw her mother injured like that. It reminded him of his childhood, always being worried, always being angry. He shook his head slightly to rid himself of those memories. He wasn't prepared to see Lou like that. He always saw his sister-in-law as a strong woman...this was so different and he was uneasy and unsettled. He didn't want to re-live it all, but he owed it to his niece to come with her.

Ty looked over at Georgie. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Georgie said rigidly.

"Okay, well, just brace yourself. And know that your mom is way stronger than she will look. She won't just fall apart, okay?" Ty explained.

"Ty, I know. It's just...this is all my fault."

"Georgie, come on. You need to stop blaming yourself for everything—"

"No, Ty, listen. It is. If I hadn't tried convincing her to go and end things with him, she never would've gone last night. She would've stayed home and right now she'd be unscathed. If it weren't for me."

"No, Georgie, just stop. Okay? Blaming yourself won't do anything. But you know what? Now we need to promise ourselves that we'll take care of her, and to make her feel safe and loved."

"I know, and I promise."

They arrived in Lou's room. She was awake, but she didn't look like it. Ty saw her entire face was badly bruised, her arms the same. She didn't look like herself. Ty turned back to Georgie and told her to stay in the hall a minute while he spoke to Lou. He gently knocked on the door.

Lou was lying on her back, facing the wall. When she heard the knock, she titled her head back. Her eyes went wide. "Ty, what are you doing here? How'd you know I—"

Ty answered. "Lou, it's okay. We called into the hospital, and turned out you were really here. Just a lucky guess."

Lou closed her eyes for a second, then opened them again. "I didn't want you seeing me like this. It's not fair."

Ty spoke, "So you weren't going to tell us? You were just going to hide away here while we went crazy trying to look for you?"

"Ty, who else knows?"

"Amy...she knows…" Ty said hesitantly, not sure whether or not he should tell Lou all the details of that morning. He paused a moment, and then said, "Lou, why didn't you call any of us? We could've been here in a second!"

"No, I couldn't, okay?"

"Lou, that's ridiculous. We're your family! Fine, if you didn't want to tell Georgie or Amy, you could've called me! I'd have been here in no time!" Ty explained.

"Ty, that is so sweet, but look at me. I mean, it's not fair to you." Lou said sadly.

"What's happened in my past, it's long over. My mom is in a good space now...and it wouldn't affect my ability to cope with your situation. But please, don't hide such things from your family. Georgie went ballistic when she found those messages on your phone, and when she found your room empty." Ty spoke reasonably.

"She knows!?" Lou tried sitting up, but with difficulty.

Ty moved forward to help her sit up. "Yeah, she does know. In fact, she's here right now." Ty turned slightly, and called out, "Georgie?"

Georgie came into view, and Lou's eyes focused on her tiny frame. "Georgie," she breathed out. "Sweetheart, what are you doing here?"

"Mom, I'm here to see you."

"Ty, please take her home," Lou said immediately.

Georgie had been inching closer to Lou, but as soon as her mother said these words, she stopped in her tracks. She didn't know whether or not she should keep going or just stop right there. She hovered a moment.

"Yes, of course. We just came to make sure everything was...settled now. That you weren't in any immediate danger." Looking to Georgie, he continued, "Georgie, let's go."

"No," Georgie said stubbornly. "I'm not going."

"Georgie." Lou breathed out weakly. "Please go. I'll be home tomorrow. I promise."

"No! If Warren comes here looking for you...then what? What's going to happen then? He might hurt you again."

Lou wasn't going to win this. "Ty, please."

Ty nodded. "Okay, we'll be going. Come on, Georgie."

Georgie looked back at her mother a moment. She was about to say bye, but then decided against it. Lou was clearly shaken up and she might not reply in the way Georgie would want her to.

When they left the room, Lou could finally allow herself to cry. Warren made her feel worthless with the way he treated her, with the way he spoke to her sometimes, as if she were a mere toy that was at his disposal. Now, her brother-in-law, and her daughter had driven across town just to see if she was okay. They made her feel loved, they made her feel worth something….but she had hurried them away in the a vain attempt to keep them from seeing this side of her. They already knew what was going on with her, Georgie had probably filled Ty in. Everyone would soon find out, so really, there was so point in hiding. But the embarrassment she'd have to face...the stares and questioning looks she'd have to answer to….Lou wasn't sure if she could do it. Yes, this was her family, and she had nothing to hide from them, but she didn't want them seeing her differently. But then again, at this point, they had already seen through the facade, and Lou was too tired to keep it up.

Georgie and Ty drove home, and as soon as they arrived at the ranch, Georgie went in and ran up the stairs to her room. She was beside herself with grief and she was so afraid of what was happening. This had never happened before, and she didn't know how to deal with it, or how to react. She was worried for her mom; after seeing her in the hospital bed, weak and vulnerable, Georgie couldn't get rid of the feeling of insecurity, not knowing if her mom would be okay or not, not knowing when things would get better.

Georgie picked up her phone and dialled Peter. He picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Dad? Dad…" Georgie cried out, unable to control her tears.

"Georgie!? Honey, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Dad, I—it's mom…." Georgie stuttered.

"Sweetheart, calm down and talk to me. Is your mom okay?" Peter asked, the worry evident in his voice.

"No! She's not. She—she got hurt really badly! Someone she's seeing—they hurt her."

"What!? How bad is it, Georgie?"

"Dad, I'm not sure...but there's an injury on her forehead, some bruises…I...that's all I can think of right now."

Georgie heard Peter sigh heavily. "Is your mom awake right now?"

"Yes, she is. They say she's stable. Dad, please come home. Mom needs you. I need you."

"Sweetheart, I'll be there as soon as I can. I promise."

"Okay. Dad, I love you."

"I love you honey. Bye."

"Bye."


	7. Chapter 7

"Ty, I can't focus on work like this. I...I need to go see her, is that okay?" Amy asked.

"Of course it's okay, Amy. You don't have to ask me. I got everything under control here. You go see your sister," Ty consoled.

"How bad is it?" Amy asked fearfully.

"There's a few cuts and bruises on her arms and her face is a little bruised too. There's a bandage on her forehead and her lip is burst, but...don't let any of that scare you. It's still Lou under there. Strong and full of conviction. You go, and talk to her. Be there for her. And let her know she's safe."

"Okay Ty. I love you," Amy said, the pain evident in her voice.

"I love you too."

Amy drove to the hospital. She was extremely nervous. From what Ty described, Lou was in bad shape. _This is all my fault…if I hadn't stormed out last night, she'd be okay. She would be safe._

She walked into the hospital room where Lou was, and she knocked.

Lou looked toward the door. "Amy?"

Lou's voice sounded broken and strained, as if she had been crying all night long. Her eyes had bags under them. They were red, and her face ashen.

Amy rushed over and threw her arms around Lou. Lou immediately began to cry. Amy hugged her tighter. "Hey, hey….it's okay. You're safe. He can't lay a finger on you. I'm here for you."

Lou continued to cry, not being able to say anything. Her body shook as the sobs rattled her. Amy hugged her tighter, trying to keep her sister together.

"No, don't cry, please. Lou, don't….This is all my fault. If I hadn't left…" Amy moved back and kissed Lou's forehead. She stroked her sister's hair gently. "If I hadn't left like that, you'd be okay right now. You wouldn't have lost so much blood, and you wouldn't have faced such a trauma. I'm so sorry about last night. I should never have left."

It took a few minutes for Lou to regain her resolve. She finally cleared her throat, finally found her voice. "Amy, it's _not_ your fault. How could you have known? I hid it from everyone. Georgie only found out by accident. I didn't want her knowing either."

"Lou, you can't hide this sort of thing from us. Why...why didn't you say anything?"

"Because, Amy... Every time I thought about telling you, I'd stop because I was afraid...that you'd blame me for getting into a relationship with someone like him, and for putting my daughters in danger."

"No!" Amy said immediately. "This is not your fault! How could you think like that? I'd never blame you, Lou. This isn't your doing."

"But it is. It is, Amy. I've put Georgie through so much. After _everything_ she's been through, and she's still healing from the separation; she didn't need this, Amy! And top of everything else, she—she came in with Ty this morning, and I sent her away, not wanting her to see me like this. What if she's mad at me?"

"No, she won't be, Lou. Come on."

"And look at me," Lou laughed wryly.

"Lou, none of this is funny."

"But it is, Amy. I went there thinking I could fix everything, that it'd all be over in no time, and what does he go and do? He makes everything ten times worse. What do I do now? How will I face everyone? And today when Georgie came in, and she saw me...You should've seen the look on her face, Amy. She looked so scared and worried out of her mind."

"Lou, it's okay, that's the only way a daughter could react to seeing her mother like that, so please don't worry too much on that, okay?"

Lou smiled a little. "I guess."

"Hey, did you want some sleep? Looks like you haven't slept all night."

"No, I can't…" Lou said, afraid of being alone again.

Amy realized what was weighing down on her. She went back to the time she had her accident, how she was so afraid of being alone. "What if I stay here with you while you napped? Would you be okay then?"

"Yeah, yeah I would be."

"Good. I'm right here with you then. I'm not leaving." Amy paused a moment, and then moved forward. She planted a kiss on Lou's temple. "I love you."


	8. Chapter 8

Peter was on his way to the hospital. He'd immediately booked a flight, packed the essentials and made his way to the airport. He was sitting in the backseat of a taxi, just waiting to get to Lou. He went back to that morning...Georgie's phone call had left Peter rattled. Lou had been hurt. By someone she was seeing? Peter put his head in his hands, and bunched his hair together. He felt the need to protect his wife and daughters, but he couldn't do anything yet.

Almost twenty minutes later, Peter rushed into the room and saw Lou. She was staring out the window, blankly. Her face was bruised and the side of her forehead was bandaged. Seeing her like that broke something in him. Peter hadn't been prepared for this. He couldn't put a name to the way he was feeling, and he didn't know why. She seemed so distant, so lost. He observed the distance between them; a mere few feet. Despite having crossed so many miles to be here in the same room as her, he'd never felt further. He called out her name. "Lou?"

Lou looked over. Peter? A feeling of relief washed over her. A weak smile broke out on her face. "Peter? How did you…?"

"Georgie. It was Georgie. She called me and told me what had happened." Peter paused a moment, then set his bags down and walked forward. He wrapped his arms around Lou, engulfing her smaller frame with his own wider one. "She called and….and told me what'd happened and that I should come over, as soon as possible. So I grabbed the next available flight and here I am."

Lou rested her head on Peter's chest. Scared he'd let go, she grabbed on tighter, shutting her eyes closed.

"Hey...hey, I'm here. I'm not letting go," Peter said as he hugged her tighter. He could feel her shaking and trembling. Maybe it was his imagination, but she seemed weaker than the last time he'd seen her. Peter sighed heavily. "I'm here now, and he can't lay a hand on you."

"Peter, I was so scared…" she cried.

Peter shut his eyes tight. "I know. I know. But you're safe now."

"What if he had...what if something had happened to me…?"

Peter moved back. "Stop. Please don't say-"

A knock on the door interrupted Peter, with Peter still holding Lou's hand.

"Mrs. Morris?" It was the nurse. "Constable Alser is here. He wants to speak with you. Is that okay?"

Lou shifted uncomfortably. "Y-yes. Of course."

"Do I need to leave the room?" Peter asked cautiously.

"No, it's fine that you stay. He'll be along shortly."

"Alright. Thank you." Peter said. He waited for the nurse to step out. He then turned back to Lou. "Lou? Look at me. Who is he? I want to know."

Lou shook her head. "His name is Warren Bennett. He's an awful person. He takes advantage of people's weaknesses. Just look at me. I was at my worst after the separation and he took advantage of that."

Peter moved back. He observed her face. It was tired and broken. His own voice was uneven. "Lou, then why did you-"

"Get with him in the first place? Because, Peter, he seemed like such a nice person in the beginning. He seemed caring and he reminded me of you-I mean...I saw something in him that was familiar….but obviously, I was wrong, and now I've had to pay the price. He makes me feel worthless, like I deserve the pain he's causing me. Like I deserved this."

Peter brought his hands up to Lou's face and held them there. "No," he said sternly. "You deserve to be safe and to be happy."

"Really? Is that why you left me too? Because you thought I'd be happy this way?"

Peter's resolve changed. He tensed up and the creases in his forehead disappeared. He moved away and he quieted a moment. "Lou-"

There was a knock on the door. The officer stepped in. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Morris, how are you feeling?"

"Feeling better, thank you."

"Good to hear. Would you mind if I asked you a couple of questions?"

"Not at all."

"Great. First off, I wanted to ask the name of the man who did this to you. Just procedure."

"His name is Warren Bennett. That was his apartment where the ambulance picked me up from," Lou answered.

Peter looked over at her. A thousand emotions were surging through him. Anger, helplessness, desperation, hatred for the man who had caused all of this, and finally hatred for himself for not being able to do anything.

"Where were you, Mr. Morris, at the time that this happened?"

"I was in Vancouver. I live there; it's where I work."

"Oh?"

"We're separated," Peter explained.

"I see."

Although he'd been living in Vancouver for as long as he could remember. He didn't want to lie in any way. "But I've always lived there….even before our separation. I'd commute back and forth as my job allowed it."

"I see…" he made a quick note on his pad. "So, Lou...Bennett is nowhere to be found. Our team has searched all night. We believe he may have left town. If he hadn't, there would surely be some sign of him still."

Lou nodded. The officer continued.

"We are doing everything in our power to locate him. Our team will not rest until we find him and bring him to justice," the officer promised.

"Thank you, officer. We really appreciate having your team on our side," Peter said.

"Of course. It's our job."

Peter nodded graciously.

"Just one more thing," the officer continued. "Bennett seems to be a very private man. He generally keeps to himself, so we can't really place a finger on where he may be right now. But Mrs. Morris-Lou, if you could think of anything he might've said, someone he might've met, or anything really, please give us a call. It could really aid us in our investigation."

Lou nodded her head. "Of course."

When the officer had left, Lou and Peter were left in silence once more. "Lou?"

Lou looked up to the sound of his voice.

"It was never my intention to hurt you in suggesting the separation. We were just constantly fighting and going at it….did you really think things were going well with us?"

"They weren't, Peter. They weren't. But when have things ever been easy for us? We always fought to make it work. We would always be okay in the end. I wanted to fight for us. I did, but you...you had someone else waiting for you. That's why it was so easy for you to let go of your promises, and our marriage."

Peter said nothing. Lou went on.

"You have no idea how much it hurts when the person you love the most in this world just doesn't love you the same anymore. It makes you feel worthless, like nothing's right in this world. When Georgie ran away...and we came across Sylvia…" Lou laughed dejectedly. "That was my wake up call, Peter. I realized right then that I had no place in your heart, and that you were over me."

"Lou, please."

"No, it's true. And it made me think...had you _ever_ loved me? If it was so easy for you to move on while we were still a family unit, then had there ever been any love for me in your heart?"

"Lou, please stop. Don't say those words, please. Of course I love you! I swear. Sylvia was a mistake!"

"Was I a mistake too?"

Peter moved back. "How could you say that?"

"Well? Was I?"

"Don't, Lou. That's not fair."

Peter just looked at her, and then away. He stood up suddenly and turned back to look at her. "You weren't."

At that, Lou looked up.

Peter continued. "You weren't a mistake, and I still love you. Just because we're not together anymore, that doesn't mean I'll stop. Hell, if you move on with someone else someday-with a man who is _good_ to you and treats you right-even then, I won't stop loving you. I'll love you until the day I die, and even after that." His blue eyes were full of tears, the pain evident in them. "I love you, Lou Fleming," he said, his voice heavy and barely a whisper.

Lou was about to say something when Peter suddenly left the room.

He walked as fast as he could as far away as he could. He exited the hall and found an empty bathroom. He quickly turned on the tap of the sink and splashed his face with water. He saw his eyes were red, his face tired and wet. He looked upon himself with a renewed sense of hatred. _This is all your fault. This is your doing, do you hear me?_ He half-heartedly punched his hand to the wall a few times. "Your fault…" he whispered dejectedly. His tears made their way down his face, his soundless sobs making a racket in his own mind.

There was a lump in his throat and suddenly he found himself out of breath. He breathed in and breathed out. He looked back into the mirror. He found himself staring back at a failure of a man, one who had managed to let his family slip through his fingers. If only he'd tried, just once. If he'd sat her down, and talked about a solution to all their problems, then none of this would've happened.

He leaned forward on the sink. Suddenly he breathed in sharply. He rubbed his face dry and got ready to exit the bathroom.

He made his way back to the room and knocked lightly. He cleared his throat. "Lou, I came to Hudson to see if you were okay. Not to start fighting with you... _again_." He walked over. "Are you in pain?"

Lou was surprised at the question. "No...no."

"Where did he hurt you?"

Lou looked down. "There's gashes on my abdomen. They performed surgery last night and they've stitched them up."

Peter looked at her, wide eyed. " _What?_ He stabbed you?"

"Peter...I don't know what happened. I was unconscious through most of it. The parts I was awake for were just…I don't really remember too much."

"How much blood did you lose?"

"I don't know, a lot."

"Lou, I'm sorry about all of this."

"Don't. This is all my fault. If I hadn't gone last night, everything would be okay. And Georgie-she's been crazed ever since it happened. She's been so worried and upset, and it's all my fault."

"Hey, none of that, okay? Georgie is fine. Our daughter is strong. And you'll be okay too. I'm here now, and we will get through this together."

"Thanks Peter. Um...could you bring Georgie in to see me today? I sent her away this morning when she came with Ty, and I realize now that was wrong. I need to see her, make sure she's alright. She should be back from school by now; it's already 4:30…" Lou said, looking at the clock. "Please?"

"Yes, I will go pick her up. You stay right here until I get back." He smiled gently at her before picking up his bags and exiting the room.


	9. Chapter 9

Peter made his way into the Heartland house. He called out, "Hello?"

Immediately, he saw Georgie. She was standing by the kitchen sink, leaning over.

When she saw her dad, she quickly walked over to him. "Dad, you came."

Peter hugged her lovingly. "Of course I did."

"When did you get here?"

"A while ago. I went to see your mom," Peter informed.

"Oh, really? How is she? Is she okay?" Georgie asked in a fury.

"Hey, hey...she's fine. I promise. In fact, she asked me to bring you there to see her. Are you okay with that? I just-don't want to disappoint her."

"Yeah, of course I'll go with you. I really want to see her and-and say I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what, sweetheart?"

She looked down. "I don't know...I just-nevermind...I just miss her and I want to see her."

"Yeah, I know. She misses you too, a lot," he said and he saw Georgie's eyes light up for the first time that day.

"Yeah, let's go," Georgie decided.

"Great. I'll just put my bags in Amy's old room, is that okay?"

"Yeah, definitely. Um, Katie is out with Lisa. Lisa had some errands to run," Georgie filled him in.

"Oh, that's good. As long as she's busy. Does she know yet?"

"Not yet...she thinks mom's at work…"

"Oh, well we should tell her soon. Mom's probably getting home tomorrow."

Georgie nodded. "Sure." Georgie suddenly remembered something. She went into her mother's room and unplugged Lou's phone that was charging. Lou probably needed it nearby, but hadn't said anything, or she'd forgotten about it. Georgie packed the charger into a side pocket of the bag, and placed the phone inside her own pocket. She picked up Lou's bag, swung it over her shoulder and headed out of the room.

The ride over took longer than expected. There was a lot of traffic in town at this time, and it didn't help that the hospital was so far away from the ranch.

It was almost six pm when Georgie and Peter walked into Lou's room. They found Lou sitting up in her hospital bed. Georgie sensed Lou was feeling a little better-emotionally speaking. Even so, when she put Lou's bag down on a chair in the room, she looked back at her mom, and hesitated.

Lou sensed her hesitation. "It's okay sweetheart. You can come closer. Come here." Lou outstretched her arms and motioned for Georgie to come over.

Georgie walked over, and sat down at Lou's bedside. She immediately went in for a hug, not ready to exchange any words with Lou just yet. Her head rested in the crook of Lou's neck, but she was holding her mother, supporting Lou's body weight because Georgie was afraid she might hurt Lou if she leaned over too much.

"I need to go have a chat with your doctor," Peter said to Lou. He waited for a response, saw Lou nod back at him, and then headed out of the room.

Lou brought her hand to the back of Georgie's head and cradled it. Lou smiled because she now had Georgie close to her, and she could finally relax.

They moved out of the hug, and this was the first time Georgie really observed her mom's face. It was broken, and she didn't like how that made her feel.

"Your lip, your forehead..." Georgie breathed out slowly. She moved her gaze to Lou's arms, and saw they were almost as bad. She put a light hand to the bruise on Lou's forearm.

"Georgie, look at me. It's okay, it's still me under all this, okay?"

Georgie's eyes welled up. She looked down.

"Hey, hey." Lou was alarmed. She brought a hand to Georgie's chin. "It's okay."

"None of this is okay. This is what I was worried would happen," Georgie said, her voice broken. She took Lou's hand in hers and kissed it lightly.

Lou sighed, and looked at her. "I know. But it's only going to get better from here."

"What happened?"

"Details aren't important."

"Well, where else did he hurt you?"

"Georgie, come on…" Lou said.

"No, mom I wanna know. I-did he… he stabbed you, didn't he?"

Lou stopped and looked at Georgie. _How does she know?_

"Mom."

Lou answered, "Did your dad say something?"

"No. When I called in this morning, the nurse told me what'd happened to you."

Lou sighed. "Yeah, well...that's something they should've kept to themselves."

"Are you in pain?"

Lou said, "No, they've given me something for it."

Georgie looked relieved. "Okay, good…and you're going to be fine, right? I mean, the head injury … It's nothing serious?"

"It's not, and yes, I will be," Lou said to Georgie.

Georgie sighed heavily. "I just felt so powerless, because I couldn't protect you. I was so scared, mom. I found your bedroom door swinging wide open, your phone on the bedside table…" Georgie sighed again. "Just…don't ever do anything like that ever again, okay? Do you have any idea that-that we almost lost you, and if that'd happened, I don't know what I would've done."

"Georgie-"

"No, mom, hear me out," Georgie said quietly.

Lou waited for Georgie to continue.

"When I was younger, maybe eight or nine, I lived with a foster mother whose husband was...well, controlling and abusive. He was mean and scary… I remember I'd always be hiding behind her." Georgie saw Lou tense up suddenly, to which she said, "She never let a scratch on me, though. But he hurt her a lot...and this one time, she was sent to the hospital, and I was sent to another home. I didn't even get to say goodbye."

Lou was silent. She hadn't thought of this. No wonder Georgie had picked up the signs so quickly-she'd seen it all before. She must've picked up on Lou's agitation, the way she was acting. It must've been really obvious to her.

"But I can't lose my mom. Not ever," Georgie finished.

"And you won't. I promise."

Georgie moved forward and hugged her mother tight. "I love you," Georgie said as she kissed her mom's cheek. "So much."

"I love you too, sweetie."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey guys! I am so sorry about this long wait; I saw your sweet messages asking me to upload and I've been struggling with writer's block, but I figured I should give it a shot for you guys. You've all been so supportive and I feel so lucky that I'm writing something you guys are enjoying. So please review as much as you can and I will be back with more soon. Enjoy xo**

* * *

Georgie was sitting on a chair beside Lou's bed, playing a game on her phone. Lou observed her. She seemed different from her normal self. She was obviously shaken up by seeing Lou like this...she looked like she was playing the game, but not completely concentrating on it.

Only a few hours ago was Lou lying in the OR, unsure of whether or not she'd make it home to her kids. Lou remembered closing her eyes for the last time, terrified she wouldn't wake up again. But she'd made it, thank goodness, and her daughters still had their mother. _God, I love them so much it hurts._

Now, here she was, sitting a mere few feet away from her eldest. Yes, her head was killing her, and her other injuries limited her movement, but she was glad to be in the same room as Georgie. Looking at Georgie, and being reminded of Katie as well, Lou felt the sudden need to protect them both, from anything and everything. But right now, she was afraid if that was even in her control or not. Wanting to forget about this worry, for even a moment, she tried starting up some conversation with Georgie. "How was school today?" Lou asked her daughter.

"It was okay. Same old," Georgie replied quickly, seemingly immersed in her game.

They quieted for a moment, and then Georgie suddenly turned the game off, and put her phone away. "I...uh, brought you a change of clothes and some other things you might need for tonight. Oh, and your phone. You left it at home last night," Georgie said as she reached into her jacket pocket. She brought it out and handed it over to Lou.

"Oh...thanks sweetie." Lou looked at her daughter. "Did you…" Lou trailed off, worried Georgie had seen something else… Lou quickly turned on the 'Find my iPhone' app, and clicked on Warren's icon. His last known location was from last night. It read somewhere just North-West of Hudson. He must've turned off his GPS when he got on the road...Lou figured he was headed to Jasper. _He must be at Eastwood._

"There was a message notification, and it was from him, and so I checked the messages, or else I wouldn't have mom, I promise."

"Sweetie, it's fine, okay?"

Georgie nodded. "Yeah, so then I scrolled up and saw you'd texted because you wanted to talk...and…" Georgie sighed. "Lou, you promised me you'd do it somewhere there were a lot of people. What—what happened to that?"

Lou knew this was the one thing she'd ask. She sighed, switching her phone off. "Sweetheart, I just saw you so upset and unhinged by everything, by the bruises...by having that encounter with him...and then after dinner, Amy and I had this huge fight and I was in a really bad space, and I did not want to wait until the next day, or—I'd go crazy. In the rush, I completely forgot about what you said. It was only when I got into the elevator in his building that I remembered, and then I didn't have my phone on me—" Lou held it up, "So I couldn't even cancel."

"I guess that makes sense," Georgie said thoughtfully.

Lou observed Georgie. She looked like she was about to say something else, but thought better of it. "What is it, honey?"

Georgie shook her head. "It's nothing. I shouldn't ask."

"Come on, now you have to. What is it?"

"Fine. When I came down yesterday, and you were standing there with Warren...I noticed you looked really scared. And I know he's a monster, but it all looked so momentary, like something had _just_ happened. So...what did he do? Because mom, you looked _terrified_."

Lou shook her head. "Georgie…"

"Okay, okay, it's fine. You don't have to say," Georgie said hurriedly, worried she'd upset Lou. Maybe he had said something that Lou would rather forget altogether.

"I just don't want to burden you…" Lou said as she subconsciously brought her hand to just above her collarbone, where he had brought his hands and choked her.

Georgie realized exactly what that meant, and immediately she spoke. "Are you serious?" She let out an incredulous breath. "Because wow, okay...so—so he had the courage to stand in _our_ home and attack _my mother_ while I was under the same roof...? How dare that vile, disgusting little—"

"Georgie," Lou warned.

Georgie was tense now. "Mom, you need to tell the police where he is _right_ now!"

"What? Georgie, how would I—"

"Lou, don't do that. I'm sure you know."

"Sweetie, listen to me carefully. If I tell the police where he is, he will know _exactly_ who tipped them off. And he will be back here—"

"He'll be in jail, actually. And you will be safe! There's no need to be scared!" Georgie tried to convince Lou.

"Fine. He goes to jail, and then a year or two years go by, and he gets back out. Then what?"

"Mom, he's going to be charged heavily, okay? Jail time will set him straight. And obviously, once he's out, he won't be allowed anywhere near you," Georgie reasoned.

"Georgie, stop."

"Why?"

"I can't say anything. It's the only way to keep you and your sister safe."

"Mom, look at you!" The volume of Georgie's voice was rising. "If that guy hadn't come in, if he hadn't called for help, you would've been dead! Mom, you could've died, leaving us all behind because you were too afraid to speak up, to ask for help! There are people here who are willing to help, whose _job_ it is to help and protect you, and you're pushing all that away!? Mom, I swear to you, he can't touch you once the police are on our side. Please!"

Lou was silent.

"And now you won't even say anything," Georgie breathed out, releasing her frustrations. "Do—do you think that you being attacked is keeping Katie and I safe? Or you being stabbed and rushed into the ER at all hours of the night is keeping us safe? The only way your daughters will ever be safe is if you are safe! Mom, we need you to be strong, okay...? I have never seen you like this, so defeated, so passive…" Georgie said, her voice quieting. "Lou, whenever Katie and I get hurt, you rush to us, forgetting anything and everything you were just dealing with. You defend us at every chance you get, making sure that no one wrongs us. You protect us so fiercely, and I need you to do the same for yourself now."

"Sweetie…" Lou said tiredly, "There's so much that you don't know about him, so much that I don't know...I can't risk anyone's safety."

Georgie had no idea where Lou's fear and anxiety was coming from. She had to make Lou see from her perspective. She walked over and sat at Lou's bedside. Taking Lou's hand in hers, she spoke, "Mom, I'm sure there are so many good reasons to stay quiet, to just hide away. But without any leads, the police are going to forget about this case, and Warren is going to get away with this. And yes, I get that you don't want him getting angry and coming after us, but we will be in much more danger if he's not even in police custody. Mom, don't let him scare you like this. You need to let the police handle him, and we need to act fast, or else he really will get away. And you can't just let him get away," Georgie finished.

Lou looked at Georgie, amazed at how mature and grown up she'd become this past year. Watching her like this made Lou's heart glow with pride. Smiling, she said, "When did you get to be so grown up?"

Georgie laughed suddenly. It felt good to laugh after this long ordeal she'd just been through. After all she had just said about being strong, not letting their fears get to them, and not letting Warren get away with it, Lou had just said the most mom-thing ever, completely missing out on what she'd meant to convey. "Mom, you're missing the point!"

Lou laughed gently. "No, no I get it. I do, sweetheart, I really do, but I'm afraid...what if it all goes terribly wrong?"

"I'm scared too. But it will be so much worse if we don't do anything about it at all."

Lou thought a moment. She sighed, giving in. "Okay, okay, you're right. I will tell the police. I promise."

"Oh my god, you have no idea how relieved I am," Georgie said, a smile on her face.

Lou put a loving hand to Georgie's cheek. "Oh, honey, you and me both."


	11. Chapter 11

When Peter had walked back into the room after speaking to the doctor, Lou had filled him in on where she thought Warren may be headed. He'd immediately headed to the front desk to ask the receptionist there for the police contact number and he had phoned them with this information.

Minutes later, Peter returned to Lou's room. "I've informed them, and they're on their way to Jasper," he announced. He paused a moment, then looking to Georgie, he said, "I should take you home now, Georgie. You need your rest, honey."

Georgie looked over at her mother, almost asking permission. She was worried about leaving Lou alone.

Lou smiled. "You go, honey. I'll be fine."

Georgie nodded, getting up from her chair and walking over to grab her coat.

Peter smiled. "Okay, I'll be downstairs by the car. You come quick, okay?"

"Okay," Georgie said as Peter left the room. She put her coat on and then turned to Lou. Georgie smiled and walked over. "Good night."

Lou motioned for Georgie to sit beside her a minute. As Georgie sat, her mother embraced her lovingly. They moved out of the hug, and Lou put a hand to Georgie's cheek, and said, "You take care of yourself and your sister for me tonight, okay? I'm going to be perfectly fine here. There are a lot of people here that will make sure of it, so don't worry, alright?"

"Easier said than done. But...okay, I'll try. I promise."

Lou smiled. "Good," she praised. She kissed Georgie's forehead, and said, "Goodnight, honey."

"Night, mom," Georgie smiled back. She then headed out of the room and shut the door closed behind her.

XXX

Lou was alone again. She had been dreading this. She knew Peter would eventually say Georgie had to go home to her own bed to get a good night's rest. And she wanted that for her daughter as well. But now, here she was, alone and afraid again, scared that Warren might come into her room and make all of this ten times worse.

When would this paranoia leave her? When would she go back to normal? Lou wished she could just go home now, be with her daughters, and spend time with them.

She wanted to sleep in her own bed, be in the comfort of her home. Now that Peter and Georgie had left, Lou desperately wanted them both back here, for some support, for some sort of protection she felt she needed. Lou knew how ridiculous she was being, but she had no way to describe this feeling of insecurity, this fearfulness. What had Warren done to her?

XXX

Peter and Georgie drove home mostly in silence. Georgie was drained from the ordeal she'd been through yesterday and today, and she wanted to go home and sleep away her troubles, but she felt guilty leaving her mom there alone. Georgie felt that someone should be there with her right now, maybe just for support. She felt as though Lou needed someone right now.

Peter looked over at Georgie. She seemed agitated, nervous almost. "Georgie, what's wrong?"

"We shouldn't have left Lou alone."

Peter answered, "I know, I know...I'm going to drop you off and then head back as soon as possible, okay?"

Georgie nodded, relieved. It was silent for a bit, and then, "Is she going to be okay?"

Peter looked over at Georgie again. This was the second time she'd asked this of him today. "Yes, honey, of course she will."

"What'd the doctor say…?"

Peter stopped a minute, unsure of what to say to his daughter. "Well, they said that mom's coming home tomorrow, so we can look forward to that."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she's going to be fine, and she'll be home soon, so we can spend some time with her."

"That's great, but did she say anything about Lou's injuries?"

Peter said nothing.

"Dad, come on, she has stab wounds, there's a huge cut on her forehead—"

Peter sighed heavily. "I know, honey. I know."

"Okay, so…?"

"So, she said that...your mom might have to come in for the next little bit to re-do the dressings on the injuries, or...or we can get the supplies ourself and we can do all that at home…"

"Okay, well there's no need to keep going back and forth. I think we can handle it ourselves."

Peter smiled proudly at his daughter. "I agree. And then she also said that mom should take it easy for the next little while."

"So she's out of danger?"

"Yes."

Georgie breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back against the headrest. "Thank god."

They'd come to a red light. The night was quiet. Peter looked over at Georgie sadly. "Honey, everything is going to be okay. You don't need to worry anymore."

On the verge of tears, Georgie could only shake her head. "I don't know...I—I'm just so angry at myself."

"What? Georgie."

"No, I'm serious. I should've been there for her, except I wasn't. I was hiding away in my room, worried about my own fears. I told myself it was better to stay inside than checking in on Lou. But how would I have known that she'd go out on her own, at _night_ to go talk to him?"

Peter shook his head. "Sweetheart, Georgie, this isn't your fault."

"Maybe not, but I should've been there for her…and...and I just—"

"Honey, what is it?"

"I was _asleep_ during the time that she got attacked, during the time that she was being rushed to the emergency room, when she was brought into the OR, and when she was—she was about to go under for surgery. I slept through all of it, and I just…"

"Honey, you have nothing to feel guilty about. Nobody knew this was going to happen."

Georgie closed her eyes, shaking her head. "I just love her so much. I don't know what I would've done if I'd lost her."

"Me too, honey. Me too," said Peter quietly.

Georgie looked over at her dad, noticing the change of tone in his voice. The light turned green, and the car moved forward. He was concentrating on the road, but he seemed to be elsewhere altogether. The creases in his forehead were evident, and he seemed upset, and angered. It seemed a thousand emotions were running through him. Georgie regretted saying those words because she realized they had a double meaning for her dad. She closed her eyes in remorse, and then opening them up again, she stared out the window for the rest of the ride home.

Peter and Georgie entered the house, and made their way into the living room. They saw Ty and Amy sitting there together. Immediately, the husband and wife stood as they saw the father and daughter approach.

"How is she doing?" Amy asked.

"She's doing okay. She's stable. The doctor is saying she should be good to go either tomorrow morning or in the afternoon," Peter answered.

"Wait, already? Shouldn't they keep her a while longer, just to be safe?" Amy worried.

"Well, the doctor told me that Lou is stable, physically, and that the only way for her to recover emotionally is for us to bring her here to the warmth and comfort of her own home," Peter informed.

"Okay! That's good news, Amy," Ty consoled his wife, putting a hand to her back.

Amy nodded.

"So, I—uh, I came to drop Georgie off, but I think I should head back, you know...be there with Lou. I don't feel good about leaving her alone," Peter said. Turning to Georgie, "Honey, why don't you go freshen up, and you can get ready for dinner?"

Georgie nodded. "Okay, night dad."

Peter smiled. "Night," he called after Georgie as she headed up the stairs to her room. Turning back to Ty and Amy, he said, "Okay, so I'll be on my way."

"Oh, hey Peter," Ty called out. "You know what, man? You've had a long flight, you've been out all day. You must be tired. Why don't you stay home tonight? I'll go to Lou."

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that."

"Of course you can. You know, Katie's asleep right now, but I have a feeling she'll wake up soon and will want to see you. So please, why don't you head in and get some rest? That way you can spend some time with your daughters, you guys can have dinner together, just relax. And I'll go wait on Lou."

Peter was unsure of what to say. He looked to Amy for a little guidance.

Amy smiled and nodded. "I think that's a really good idea. Ty is happy to help."

Peter nodded. "Thank you both so much. Honestly."

"It's our pleasure," Ty said.

Ty headed to the mud room and grabbed his jacket. He headed out into the yard and made his way to his truck.

Driving into town took less than twenty minutes. Ty parked his truck in the lot and made his way up to Lou's room, remembering the way to the room from his morning trip.

He was about to knock, but he figured she might be asleep. He cracked the door open slightly, and it turned out, he was right. Ty made his way into the room, and shut the door. He scanned the room and saw a chair a little ways away from Lou's bed. He moved to go sit in it.

Once seated, he looked over at Lou. He could only imagine how she'd gotten the marks on her arms. _She must've been terrified,_ he thought. And her forehead…? Her abdomen? How monstrous was that man to have hurt her so menacingly, so mercilessly? Ty had to look away. He couldn't stand it.

Amy had come home that afternoon and she'd broken down in his arms, crying for a good while. He'd worried something had happened, but then he figured it was just Amy letting out her grief from seeing her sister in such a fragile state.

Thinking back to his childhood, Ty could remember coming home day after day, listening to Wade screaming and shouting at his mom. He remembered shouting back, and Lily trying to stop him from interfering, worried Wade would hurt him as well. But he didn't care about himself. All he wanted was for his mother to be okay, to be safe, to feel loved and to be happy. But it was damn near impossible for that to happen with Wade around.

 _Once in ninth grade, he'd come home after school, and he heard Wade screaming at his mom. This was nothing new, but today his speech was slurred. He was drunk. Again, nothing new. Ty heard a crash coming from the bedroom. He bolted and made his way into the room._

 _Wade seemed not to acknowledge his presence. He walked over to Lily, grabbing onto her arms and holding her tightly._

" _Mom!" Ty screamed at her, anger and desperation flowing from his voice._

 _But what could Lily say or do in this moment in time?_

 _Ty marched over to Wade, grabbed his shoulders and pulled him away from his mother. Ty pushed him and he crashed into the dresser. Wade growled in pain, sending a few curse words out of his mouth._

 _Ty turned back to look at Lily, and to his shock, he saw a trail of blood beginning at her hairline. Ty was distracted, he was worried and upset and he was thinking all sorts of things, like what had Wade done for her to begin to bleed, that he had to get his mother to a doctor as soon as possible. "Mom, you're bleeding…"_

 _He didn't realize Wade had come up behind him._

 _Lily's voice tore out from her throat. "TY, BEHIND YOU!"_

 _Before he could turn back, Wade had struck him on the shoulder._

 _Ty winced and let out a scream. Holding his shoulder, he staggered back, surprised at Wade's strength, even in his drunken state. He remembered looking over at Lily one more time, and screaming, "Mom, get out of here! Just get out of here—"_

XXX

 _Lou walked out of the kitchen in Warren's apartment. She found him sitting on his couch, the TV on. Was he watching a football game, the news channel? She couldn't tell; the scene kept changing._

" _Warren? There's something I need to say."_

" _Oh yeah, is it the movie you don't like? We can watch something else."_

 _Movie? Lou turned around and there on the TV a movie was now playing. "It's_ — _it's not the movie, I just…"_

" _Lou, what is it?"_

" _It's you and I…"_

" _Oh, no, Lou. We're great. Don't worry about a thing."_

" _But I'm not happy."_

" _Yes, you are. Don't overthink things, okay?"_

" _But Warren—"_

" _What did I say, Lou!?" He shouted suddenly._

 _Lou gasped, stumbling back. "Okay, okay."_

 _He stood up, and began walking toward her. There was an icy look in his eye. There was nowhere for her to escape. She was stuck._

 _Suddenly, the scene shifted. She was standing in the Heartland kitchen, Georgie by her side. Lou was holding her tight in a side embrace, trying to keep her away from Warren, who was inching closer to them._

 _His hand suddenly shot forward, and he pushed Lou back. She stumbled, bumping violently into the round table. Pain shot through her, but she ignored it. She reached her hand forward, clawing at Georgie's shoulder, trying to move her back and away from his reach. She seemed to keep moving further and further away from her._

 _Georgie stood right in Warren's path, and Lou couldn't do anything about it. "Georgie...Georgie!"_

"Georgie!"

Lou gasped awake. Her heart was beating, and her breathing uneven. She gasped out Georgie's name again and again.

Startled, Ty immediately stood from his chair, moving toward his sister-in-law. "Lou? Hey, it's okay, you're fine."

Lou, still out of breath, put a hand to her chest. "Georgie—is Georgie—"

Ty put a hand to Lou's shoulder. "Georgie is fine. She's safe and sound at home. Peter brought her back. She's okay."

Her chest still heaving, Lou lay back a little, her head resting uncomfortably on the metal headrest.

"She's okay," Ty repeated gently. He shuffled around to pour some water for Lou.

She took the glass graciously. "Thank you," she breathed out.

It was a silent minute, while Lou drank, and Ty stood by, making sure she was alright.

Watching her like this made Ty want to cry his heart out. This brought back too many memories. And it wasn't just that. He just hated seeing Lou so scared, so vulnerable. These were two attributes that he never thought would associate with Lou.

She handed him the glass back, and he took it. Placing it on the side table, he moved back.

"Ty, what are you doing here? You should be at home," Lou said, now calmer.

"No, I'm going to be here for you. You shouldn't be alone. Now, tell me, are you okay?"

Still a little disoriented by the dream, Lou shook her head. "It was nothing...just a—a dream. I'm okay."

"Oh…" Ty said empathetically. "I know what you're going through."

Lou looked up as he said this.

Ty continued, "After you face a trauma like the one you did, you'll have nightmares, you might be afraid all the time, be fearful about your surroundings, but it all eventually goes away. You become yourself again in no time. So, this being scared and having nightmares, it's completely normal. Just know that we're here for you, and that if you need someone to talk to, I'll be here."

"Oh, Ty...thank you. You being here, giving me this assurance, it means a lot."

"Well, anything for you…" Ty trailed off for a bit. Then, "And you know...all of this, don't let it wear you down. You're stronger than this. You are worth way more than he tells you that you are. He's just a deprecating monster that doesn't deserve you. And after this…" Ty breathed out a little, blinking hard and fast, trying not to let his tears show. "If I see him, I will make sure I teach him a hard and fast lesson."

"Ty—"

"No, how dare he put you through all that? You're basically my older sister, Lou. He dared to hurt my family, so no, I'm not stepping back."

"Ty, stop. What are you talking about?"

"If he ever shows his face at our doorstep and says anything rash to you, or he hurts you again, or Georgie or Katie—then I'm not letting him go. Lou, you weren't there this morning when Georgie found out about you. Her face dropped and she was shaking and trembling. She looked like her entire world had shattered around her. I never want to see her like that again, ever."

Lou shook her head. "I've put her through so much, I just…"

"No, stop right there. It just isn't your fault, and you need to believe in that, okay? None of us are blaming you. Neither are Georgie and Katie, they just want their mom back home."

Lou sighed heavily. She nodded. "I know."

"Also, uhm...I grew up watching my mom go through this. But she had me for when things got rough. I was there to protect her, but you had no one. You didn't have anyone when he yelled at you the first time, when he hit you for the first time. And then when—when he attacked you, you were completely alone, but Lou, now you have _everyone_ on your side, okay? And don't for one second think that we don't need you, or that we don't love you."

Lou nodded, moved by his words. She smiled, "Thank you, Ty. I don't know what to say. I can't thank you enough for your words."

"You don't need to thank me for anything, alright? But please, stay strong, and happy. Don't let that idiot get in your head. You deserve the world and don't you dare let anything make you feel otherwise."

Lou let a tear slip down her cheek. "Ty…" She sat up and motioned for him to come close. "Come here," she said, giving him one of those big sister hugs. "Thank you, again."

Ty moved back, and headed toward his chair. "Hey, why don't you call your dad and Jack, let them know what's happened? They have a right to know, and I'm sure you need them way more than you're letting on."

"I know...it's just...I feel like I've bothered enough people. Plus, they're away. I just want to give them a little more normal."

"I get that. But I think they'll be hurt when they find out this was kept from them."

Lou nodded, considering Ty's words. "You're right…uhm, yeah, I'll call," she said as she reached for her phone, and dialled Tim's number.

Tim picked up on the fifth ring. "Hey honey," his voice was cool and calm. He seemed like he'd had a good day.

"Hi dad. Um, how's grandpa doing?"

"Oh, honey, he's perfectly fine. Don't worry, I'm taking care of the old guy out here."

"Good, that's good...where is he right now?" Lou said, her voice beginning to crack. She was on the verge of crying.

"He's asleep right now. We're actually headed back home tomorrow…" Tim trailed off, suddenly noticing Lou's change in her voice. "Honey, what is it?"

Lou breathed out slowly. "Dad, please don't freak out?"

Tim let out an exasperated breath. "Lou, honey, will you please just tell me? Are—are Georgie and Katie okay!?"

"Your granddaughters are fine. I wouldn't let anything happen to them."

"Lou, you're scaring me. What happened?"

"It's just me, I'm in the hospital, dad."

"Well—honey, what the hell happened to you!? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine now. Really. Like I said, please don't freak out."

"What happened sweetheart?"

"I—I was attacked."

"Attacked?" Tim's voice faltered. He had figured since Lou was the one calling, she must be okay. But he hadn't been expecting this.

Lou noticed Tim had gone silent. She wondered what he must be thinking right now. "Dad, say something."

"Honey, how bad is it? How badly were you hurt!?" He repeated.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm stable now."

"Sweetheart, please tell me. I can take it. What I can't take is not knowing what happened."

"Fine. I have a few cuts and bruises, a bit of a head injury, and some—some gashes on my abdomen."

" _Gashes?!_ "

"I was stabbed, yeah."

Tim let out a shocked breath. Unable to understand this unexpected turn of events, he could only put his head in his hands. "Oh, honey, we're coming. Me and Jack."

Lou was relieved, to say the least. "Really, dad?"

"Yes, really, honey! ...Is there someone there with you?"

"Yes, Ty's here with me."

"Alright, honey, hand him the phone. I need to speak with him."

"Okay, yeah," Lou said as she removed the phone from her ear, and held it out to Ty. "Dad wants to talk to you."

Ty stood and took the phone from Lou. Bringing it up to his ear, he said, "Hello?"

"Ty, is she really okay right now? Is she stable—she just told me she was stabbed. Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she is. Don't worry, Tim."

"Okay, okay, and Ty, please—just don't leave the hospital tonight. Someone needs to be there for her."

"You have my word, Tim."

Tim sighed heavily. "And Ty? Jack and I are coming soon, alright? So just—just text me the details—which hospital, the floor and room number."

"I will. Just drive carefully. The roads aren't in the best condition."

"Yeah, I will. Thanks Ty," and with that, Tim cut the line.


	12. Chapter 12

It was a little before dinner, and Amy and Peter sat in the living room while Georgie and Katie were in their rooms.

Amy looked to Peter, remembering that she'd been angry at him for so long after the Vancouver incident with his girlfriend, and then also after him and Lou signed the papers. She remembered Lou being so worried and so uncertain about the whole thing, but Peter was adamant that it was the right thing to do. It was as if he didn't even bother trying, as if he didn't care about Lou, or their daughters. Had he not seen that he had so much to lose? Had all those years meant nothing to him?

The resentment was still there, but it was difficult to stay mad at him in this moment in time…because they were all to be blamed. How much different was she from him? Amy now felt herself drawn to Peter's grief and she felt herself empathizing with what he was going through. All the anger and resentment set aside, Amy figured that she and Peter had one thing in common: their love for Lou. Despite it, they had both been unable to help her, and instead, they'd both push her along that dangerous path. Because of her grief and isolation, she had been vulnerable, and this allowed Bennett come into her life and wreak havoc.

It was intensely quiet in the room, and Amy looked to her ex brother-in-law again, this time with a different intent. She waited for him to say something. She _hoped_ he'd say something. She wanted to know more on Lou, and what was going on with the police and Bennett. But Peter seemed out of it, completely lost in thought, his gaze unfocused. He had a hand resting on his chin, and the creases on his forehead were evident.

"Hey, Peter…?" Amy called out.

"Hmm?" Amy's voice seemed to bring out of his reverie. "Yeah?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, you didn't. I'm just…" Peter sighed. "I'm not really sure. You wanted to ask me something?"

"Yeah. Uhm, is Lou okay? How's she doing now?"

"She's doing really well—I mean, as well as she can be at this point."

Amy nodded, her heart heavy. She sighed, "I can't believe all of this happened...and it was all my fault."

"What? Amy, you too? Georgie said it was her fault as well. You girls need to stop blaming yourselves. Sometimes bad things happen and there's just no way to make sense of them. It's nobody's fault, okay?"

Amy shook her head. She felt like she needed to share her thoughts with someone, or else she'd go crazy. "No, Peter. It really _is_ my fault. The night she went out...right before, we had this huge fight, and I stormed out. I should've stayed, I should've talked to her, helped her sort everything out. Instead, I left her alone to deal with everything, and she was already in such a bad space, and she went out and she—she almost died. Last night could've been the last time I ever spoke to her. Oh my god, I can't even begin to fathom the thought..." Amy trailed off, shaking her head, her blue eyes deeply troubled.

"And you don't have to. She's fine."

Amy nodded. "Yeah, but it would've been on me. And I know how selfish that sounds, but I just…I wouldn't have been able to bear it…"

"I get that," Peter said quietly.

"Did the doctor say anything about her emotional state? I mean, is she—she wouldn't hurt herself, would she?"

Peter was startled. He hadn't thought to ask the doctor. He shook his head. "I—I don't know…" he said nervously, tapping his fingers to his other hand.

"I mean, I know Lou. She would never, and she has her girls to take care of, but she's been through so much. It's been almost three months since this all began."

"Months?"

Amy nodded. "A few weeks after your papers were finalized."

Peter ran a hand through his hair. "Oh god...and nobody got a hint?"

Amy shrugged her shoulders, feeling guilty all over again. "I don't know...I mean, everyone knew there was something going on, but we just figured it was about the divorce, and how final it was. She'd taken it pretty hard."

"And Georgie? She never noticed?"

"Lou said that Georgie had noticed her behaviour on multiple occasions over the last few weeks, but every time she brought it up, Lou would just deny it, saying it was work related because she didn't want to worry her. And the marks were easy to hide too, especially now in the cold weather. She'd wear turtle necks, long sleeves...put on _makeup_ when it was necessary…" Amy trailed off, thinking of how she herself hadn't noticed any of that.

Peter sighed heavily, taking it all in. "Wow...So, do you know how—I mean, do you know when he started—"

"Hurting her?" Amy finished for him. She saw him nod, to which she answered, "She told me it started out with just verbal abuse, and that he began physically hurting her just less than a month ago," Amy sighed. "It was a gradual process."

"Phys—physically…? How exactly?" Peter's voice rose in pitch.

"You know, hitting her, bruising her...she said his specialty was coming up to her and choking her...when she least expected it. Fast reflexes."

Peter set his jaw back, angered and feeling helpless. Bunching up his hair at the back of his head, he asked, "Did you know about him—just the fact that she was with him?"

Amy shook her head. "No. I didn't—I found out _just_ this morning," Amy said, sighing, her heart heavy.

"Mmm," Peter replied, nodding.

The two sat in silence for a minute or so, both taking in the situation they were in.

Peter's phone chimed. He reached out to grab it from the table in front of him and held it up. It was a text from Sylvia. He wrinkled his brow, confused as to why she'd be texting him _now_. He swiped to the right to open the message. It read, "Hey, Peter. Can we talk?"

Seeing the text angered Peter. It made him angry at himself because it made him realize how unworthy of Lou he really was. And how much he'd hurt her. She didn't deserve it. Any of it. This was completely and entirely his fault...had the incident with Sylvia in Vancouver not happened, and had he not been such a jerk with the divorce papers...she'd be okay right now. Thinking back to the hospital, and remembering how small and tired she'd looked, his eyes welled up so much so, that his vision was momentarily compromised. He blinked hard and fast, getting rid of the tears.

He texted back, "Look, I meant what I said. You should stop trying to contact me now." Peter was flustered. He blew out his breath.

Amy noticed. "Is everything okay?"

Peter looked up. He nodded. "Yeah, it's just work. Nothing to worry about."

Amy nodded back.

"Hey, where's Jack? Is he not around today?"

"Yeah, him and my dad are out of town."

Peter nodding, understanding. "That makes so much more sense now. I was wondering why he wasn't here."

Amy's phone chimed now. She opened the message and saw it was from Ty. To Peter, she said, "Ty said that Lou just called my dad. They're both on their way. They'll be here tomorrow."

Peter replied, "Good. That's good." Finally, there would be an elder coming home and helping to settle the situation. Peter himself was a grown up, and he had learned to navigate his way through life, but he knew how assuring and calming it was to have a parent around, someone you could look to when you were uncertain on which way to take things. Tim and Jack's presence would certainly help everyone feel a sense of security in this uncertain time.

* * *

It was a little after dinner, and Peter was reading Katie a bedtime story, while Amy and Georgie were washing the dishes.

Georgie had been drying, and was currently waiting for Amy to hand her the plate she was working on.

Amy noticed Georgie had gotten lost in thought. "Hey, what is it?"

Georgie snapped out of her reverie. "Nothing—it's nothing."

"No...it's something. Now tell me."

Georgie sighed. "Mom said you two had a fight before she went off last night..." Georgie trailed off.

The plate Amy was working on slipped from her fingers and sloshed into the water. She put the back of her hand to her lips, willing herself not to cry.

"Oh my god, Amy...I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—"

Amy backed away from the sink. She'd begun to cry, tears forming in her eyes. "It's not your fault. But it's true—we got into a fight, and she got hurt because of it. I didn't know what she'd been dealing with, and our fight was her breaking point, I just know it."

"I was going to tell you about what had happened, but Lou swore me to secrecy. She said she was going to go end things with him soon. And as for your fight, it didn't drive her to go to his apartment last night; she'd made up her mind to do so long before that."

"Georgie, I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to make me feel better about all of this."

Georgie quieted, unsure of what to say next.

Amy put a hand to her forehead, moving backwards.

Georgie noticed. Worried, she moved toward her aunt. "Amy? Amy, come here. Sit down," Georgie said, leading Amy to sit on the round table. "What is it?"

"It's nothing."

"No, tell me. What is it?"

"It's nothing," she repeated.

"Amy..." Georgie said worriedly. She moved away to get Amy a glass of water. Returning, she said, "Here."

Amy pushed away the glass. "I don't want it."

Georgie sighed, "Don't do this."

Amy was adamant that she could do without the glass of water.

"Fine. I'll leave it here if you want it later."

Amy sat a moment more, then wiped her tears away and stood up. "Come on, we need to get these dishes done."

"Amy, stop. The dishes can wait, okay? Just—" Georgie moved forward, engulfing Amy in an embrace. "It's okay."

"I'm sorry, Georgie. Your mom's hurt because of me. It's my fault," Amy sobbed.

Georgie hugged Amy tighter. "No. It isn't your fault." Georgie could feel Amy shaking and trembling, so she brought her arms tighter around her aunt.

"It _is_ my fault…" Amy repeated quietly and gently, as if she'd made up her mind.

When Georgie eventually pulled away from the hug, she said, "Look, Amy. Lou had said that she was going to end things with him sooner rather than later. And she told me that _hours_ before your fight. And honestly, if anyone should be blaming themselves, it should be me! I'm the one who convinced her to go end things, I'm the one who refused to let her stay with him. Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut, at least that way he wouldn't have hurt her like _this_ …and I know how dumb that sounds, but now that I think about it...I'm the one who put her in danger."

"No, Georgie, don't…"

Georgie shrugged her shoulders, sighing, "But it's true. I'm the one who started this whole mess, not you. It's _my_ fault that my mom's been hurt, not yours."

"I don't know what to say right now."

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything. But just know it isn't your fault. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I still feel guilty for not being there for her when she needed me."

Georgie shook her head. "Well, Lou has a way of getting through things on her own. She probably didn't want to burden you. So, when she comes home tomorrow, just talk to her, okay? You'll feel better. But stop blaming yourself, please. If anyone's to blame, it's me."

"Georgie…" Amy said, now worried about her niece.

"It's okay. I'm okay. Let's get these dishes done."

* * *

Tim and Jack arrived late the next morning, almost around eleven.

Almost an hour later, Lou's eyes flitted open, and she saw Tim sitting at her bedside, his head in his hand. "Dad…?"

Tim lifted his head, looking to Lou. "Honey, hey..." Tim moved forward to Lou. "We're here now," he said, kissing her forehead. Caressing her hair, his hand eventually came to her hairline. "You're okay, you're fine," he kept repeating, trying to reassure himself.

"Where's Ty? Grandpa?"

"I sent the both of them home. Jack came, saw you'd be okay, and he was satisfied. Then I told Ty to take him home. The both of them needed their rest."

"Dad…" Lou said quietly, on the verge of tears, her heart heavy.

"Honey, what the hell happened?"

Lou shook her head. "I...I'd been seeing him for a while…" Lou looked up hesitantly, expecting a scolding from Tim. But he was just listening in quietly. "Turned out he wasn't the person I thought he was, and now I've had to pay the price."

Tim craned his neck toward Lou. "Why did he do this?"

"Because I tried ending things with him."

"Okay…" Tim said thoughtfully, taking it in, and nodding his head. "And why exactly was that?"

"Because...he…" Lou felt ashamed talking about this with her dad. It was uncomfortable for her. "He…"

"Lou, honey, just say it," Tim urged her.

"He was abusing me."

Tim had been listening intently, his forehead creased. As soon as he heard her say these words, he moved back. "What!?"

"Dad, it's okay—"

"Okay!? Are you listening to yourself?"

"Dad, please."

"Honey, look at you!"

"Okay, I get it! I look like a mess, you don't need to keep reminding me!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry sweetheart," Tim said apologetically, putting a hand to the side of her head. "He was hurting you, how?"

"It doesn't matter at this point."

"Yes, it does."

Lou looked down again. She sighed. "He hit me, slapped me, choked me. There's bruising, and some cuts...that was just the physical bit…" Lou trailed off, not wanting to get into the other stuff.

Tim's anger flared inside him. Listening to what his daughter had been through over these past few...he didn't know. Had it been weeks? Months? "How long has it been since this began?"

"It's been maybe three months…"

"Seriously?" Tim asked again, confirming.

Lou nodded. "It's okay though."

Tim scoffed. Angrily, he said, "Nothing about any of this is okay!"

Tim's sudden outburst frightened Lou. Involuntarily, she jolted, her heart beating like crazy.

Tim noticed this, and it troubled him. "Oh my god, Lou, honey. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

Recovering, Lou shook her head. "It's fine." She saw Tim's eyes were red, and they were deeply troubled by what they just saw. "Dad. It's okay," she reassured him.

Tim quieted. It was dead silent in the room. He looked around Lou. He saw the machines around her, the IV drip that ran along her arm and went into her wrist. He felt helpless and desperate, a constant fear clawing at his chest. "Honey...do you remember all those times you came to visit me here after my stampede wreck?"

She nodded. "I remember."

"And how you were always there for me, how you always stood up for me, always took my side, even when your grandpa would put me down—"

"Dad…"

"And your mother...after the accident, you were the one who called me and told me everything."

 _Mom_. Lou closed her eyes at the mention of her mother. She realized then how much she missed her, how much she needed her right now. "Dad…where are you going with this?"

"I want to thank you for always being my rock, always being there for me, even when I wasn't for you. Like now."

Lou shook her head. "You didn't know. You couldn't have, and that is not your fault."

"It is my fault. I was so blind, so ignorant."

"No—"

"But you hide it so well, it's ridiculous…"

Lou laughed wryly, with no hint of amusement in her voice. "Hide it well…? Not well enough…"

"What?"

"Georgie. She found out. And it's all my fault."

"There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's good that she knows, now she's more aware."

Lou sighed, "I don't know, Dad…"

"Trust me. Knowledge is key."

"Dad, you sound like my high school philosophy teacher," she laughed gently, her injuries restricting her movement.

Tim chuckled. Eventually, his smile faded, and he asked, "Honey, are you going to be okay?"

Lou nodded, "Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Dad. I'll be fine. Stop worrying. God, you and Georgie."

Tim laughed again. "She takes after her grandfather."

Lou smiled. "Yeah, she's amazing. I don't know what I'd do without her. She's the one who called Peter home. Honestly, I'm relieved."

Tim looked up at that, surprised. "Peter's here?"

Lou nodded. "Yeah."

"And he didn't bother to let either me or Jack know what'd happened?"

"Dad, he had no idea you guys were gone. Please, don't turn this into something."

Tim sighed, calming. "Right. Right, okay...so, when are you coming home?"

"They said they'd discharge me in a bit...like now—" Lou broke off as she saw Peter appear in the door. "Hey."

"Hey, Lou. Tim," Peter said, acknowledging Tim.

Tim turned partly around, and stood up. "Peter," he said as he walked over. He shook Peter's hand firmly, putting a hand to his shoulder. "I'm glad you're here."

Peter smiled, elated with the way Tim was speaking to him. It made him feel important, like he was needed…like his family needed him. "You too, Tim," he said. Looking to Lou, "Your papers are ready. We can head home."

* * *

When Lou arrived home, Amy headed toward her sister. She wrapped her arms around Lou, planting a kiss on her temple. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Better."

Amy pulled away from the hug, putting a hand to Lou's arm. "Good, that's good. Come on...let me take you inside, you shouldn't be standing for so long." They began walking into Lou's room, when Amy asked, "Where's Dad and Peter?"

"Peter just dropped me off inside and then headed out back to the car in a rush. Him and Dad went off somewhere. I tried asking him where they were going, but he went off so quickly...and where's Grandpa?"

"I don't know…he's been out working all day…"

Lou nodded, a little disappointed her grandpa wasn't home yet.

They walked into Lou's room, and Amy sat Lou down, helping her lean against the pillows by her headrest. Bringing a lock of Lou's hair behind her ear, and she said, "I love you."

Lou smiled at Amy, a little amused. "I love you too, Amy. What's going on with you?"

"I missed you."

"You saw me yesterday, Amy."

"I know, I know," Amy said, taking Lou's hand in hers.

"Hey, what is it…?"

"I'm sorry about everything."

"Amy—"

"No, Lou, hear me out. You didn't even let me apologize at the hospital...It was unfair of me to storm out like that. I should've been there for you. And now…" Amy sighed, "You almost—you—"

"I know, it's okay honey."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know…" said Amy in barely a whisper. "I didn't know what you were going through, and I should've stayed and helped you figure it out."

"Amy…"

Amy's eyes welled up, she sighed, saying, "Please?"

Lou was confused. "Amy, why are you even apologizing? It's not your fault."

Amy didn't say anything. She silently looked down, closing her eyes momentarily.

"Okay, it's okay. I accept your apology," Lou said, feeling badly.

Amy sighed, a huge weight lifting off her shoulders. "Really?"

Lou smiled at her sister, "Really."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hello readers! I want to apologize for taking so long to update! The last couple of months at school were crazy, and then exams came along and I had no time for anything. Note for y'all: Do not take advanced curriculum. It's the worst. Also, I want to thank you guys so much for sticking by this story and for writing reviews every now and again: they all mean so much to me! Don't worry, Ty is going to be there for Amy and the rest of the family, cowboy justice will be served, and the Tim and Peter storyline will be developing!** **To my most recent Guest review: yes! I agree, there aren't enough stories of Lou on here. I love Lou so much and she is my favourite character, so I knew that I just had to write this story. And we will get insight to Jack's feelings and why he is acting this way.**

 **Now I'm rambling. Guys, please review this chapter. It really helps when I see what you guys like, or want to see more of, because so far, it's made my story ten times better listening to your advice!**

* * *

"Lou, why did you stay with him for so long? Why didn't you put an end to it when he first started hurting you?"

"Because the first time he hurt me was _months_ ago, and it didn't even happen too often. I just thought...maybe it'll get better with time, maybe he's just had a hard day…"

In a moment of vulnerability, Lou had let slip that he'd begun hurting her all those months ago, whereas, initially she had told her it'd begun just under four weeks ago. What else was she hiding? "How often did he do it?"

Lou looked up. She shook her head, shrugging her shoulders. "I told you, not often."

Amy raised a brow, knowing well enough what that meant. "How many chances did you give him…?"

"One too many. I knew that staying made no sense. I knew that…I just—I stayed because I thought I deserved it. I wanted to be punished. I don't know for what…just that I wanted to be."

"And you still feel that way?"

"It's complicated. With Georgie and Katie around, no. With them, I remember I'm a mother, who has two daughters to live for...with them, all these stupid thoughts melt away. But when I'm alone…I don't know…"

"How could you think you deserved any of it?"

"I know it's insane, but I mean…that's really how I felt…how I _feel_. I hated myself for so long that I began to feel it was right the way he was treating me. The cuts, the punches, the burns…" Lou trailed off.

 _Burns? What the—?_

Lou continued. "...physically, they hurt like hell, but I almost took pleasure in them. I liked that the marks were there. I liked that I was in constant pain, that he treated me like I was worthless—"

"Lou, stop it." Amy said hurriedly, unable to listen to Lou anymore.

The older sister sighed. "I thought I was going to die that night. There were so many times I thought my life was over. I felt myself slipping, I felt myself bleeding out, like the life inside of me was bleeding out. I was terrified, I thought I'd never see my kids again…never see you again." Lou looked to Amy. She looked unhinged, and there was a crazed look in her eye. "Amy...if something had happened to me—"

"Okay, that's enough."

"No, just hear me out…had something happened, you'd have taken care of Georgie and Katie as best you could, right? I mean, I know that Lisa is their godmother, but—"

"But I'm their aunt," Amy finished for her sister. "Of course I'd take care of them."

Lou nodded, content. "I just needed to hear that." _Just in case._

"But this isn't something we need to be discussing, do you understand? Not now, and not ever."

Amy breathed in sharply and moved forward to hug Lou, her chin resting lightly on her shoulder. She couldn't get the image out of her mind that Lou had described; the one of her sister's life literally bleeding out of her.

* * *

Tim and Peter arrived at Heartland. It had been a tense and quiet ride home. Peter had worried Tim would snap at him sooner rather than later. He figured that Tim blamed him for all of this, and rightfully so, but he hadn't said a word about it. Maybe Tim wasn't his greatest enemy anymore. It seemed, miraculously, he hated Peter a little less now. It sort of made sense though, because now they all had one common enemy to fight against: Bennett.

"Should we tell her?" Peter asked, as they stepped into the kitchen.

"Well, she's going to realize sooner rather than later why the police haven't gotten back to her."

"Yeah, I guess—"

"Unless…" Tim was now hesitating.

"No, you know what…you're right. We should tell her. She probably already has a good idea. We shouldn't keep her in suspense."

Tim sighed tightly. "Fine, you're right. I'll go in and tell her."

Tim moved ahead and walked toward Lou's room. He knocked on the door and opened it. "Lou, honey?"

Lou and Amy seemed they were talking about something…something they didn't want anyone else hearing. They looked up when the door opened, quieting.

"Lou, Amy. Peter and I just got back from the police station."

Lou tensed up. She went cold all over. From the look on Tim's face, she could guess what he was about to say next.

Amy noticed, and immediately put a hand to her sister's arm. "Okay, so what's going on?" Amy asked for Lou.

"Well, their search in Jasper did not go so well. He, uh…well, Bennett—he escaped," answered Tim. "He's gone. There's nothing leading us to where he might have gone. He could have gone down to the States, he might've gone north…There's no way of knowing. Police said he's good at disappearing."

Amy immediately looked at Lou, worried she'd be unhinged. Lou seemed frozen, almost unresponsive.

"Lou, did you hear what I said?" Tim asked.

Lou nodded her head. "Yeah, I heard you…"

"And we know well enough that Hudson police can prove to be very incompetent at times," said Tim, flustered. His own experience with the local police had proven just that to him on more than one occasion.

"We're going to have to deal with him on our own, aren't we?" Lou asked, her gaze unfocused. She seemed to be staring at the foot of her bed.

"What?"

"He'll be back here. I just know it, he'll be back to hurt my family…" Lou said, trailing off.

Tim looked to Amy. Their silent exchange spoke volumes.

"Well, _if_ and when he is, we'll all be here. He can't harm anyone," Tim reassured.

"The police aren't going to be as involved anymore?" Amy asked.

"Looks like it. They found no leads at Eastwood Farm. They may say otherwise, but it looks like they're giving up."

Lou leaned her head back on the frame. Georgie had warned her about this. She had said that without any leads, the police would give up, and they did just that. Lou shut her eyes closed, suddenly light-headed. "Georgie told me to speak up, to tell the police where he was. I took too long to inform them, and now he's gotten away with it…Oh no…" Lou whimpered, covering her face with her hand. "I should've told the police right away…I gave him just enough time to get away."

"No, it'll be just fine. We're all here by your side, and if he comes back, we'll protect you and your girls. We're stronger than the entirety of the Hudson police," Amy consoled.

Lou laughed wryly. "Maybe."

Tim spoke up. "Okay, I'll be back in a bit. Amy, you stay with—with Lou. Don't leave her side."

"I won't."

Tim was about to head out, when Lou called out, "Dad, where's grandpa?"

Tim stopped and turned back. He swallowed hard. "Honey, I told you already. He's out."

"He's been out for an awfully long time. It's nearing four p.m. I need to see him."

"He'll be home soon. Don't worry."

"He doesn't want to see me, does he?" Lou asked, realizing by the way Tim answered that Jack should've been home hours ago.

No one said anything.

"Right. Of course he doesn't."

"It's not that he doesn't want to see you—"

"He saw me in the hospital, didn't he? What did he say? Did he say anything to you?" Lou asked, desperate for something, anything.

"He didn't say much."

Lou pursed her lips. She sucked in her breath. What must Jack be thinking? And why did he refuse to come see her? Not knowing was driving her crazy. "I need to see him," Lou said, on the verge of breaking.

"I know, honey. I'll let him know." With that, Tim went out the door, closing it shut behind him.

* * *

Almost twenty minutes later, Georgie and Katie returned home. Georgie dropped off her bag in the living room and then quickly headed to Lou's room.

Lou was up, and she was leaning back on the headboard of the bed. She seemed to have been resting her eyes a little, but Georgie thought right away something was off with Lou. She just didn't know what. "Mom?" Georgie said quietly.

Lou looked up at the sound of Georgie's voice. Her face immediately broke into a smile, her eyes lighting up. "Honey."

Georgie sat down on the bed and planted a kiss on Lou's cheek. Once closer, Georgie could see Lou's eyes were red. She'd been crying, hadn't she?

Lou put a hand lovingly on Georgie's face. "Hey. How was today?"

Georgie shrugged her shoulders. "It was alright. I'm just glad you're home." Georgie had waited for hours on end so she could see Lou again. She had been waiting for her mother's return from the hospital. Georgie was relieved, to say the least. Having her mother back home brought back a sense of security, a feeling of content, ridding her of the worry and anxiety she'd been feeling the night before.

"Oh...sweetie, me too. I missed you."

Georgie smiled at her mom, her dimples showing. "I missed you too."

"Honey, where's Katie?" Lou said, her voice quiet.

Georgie looked at Lou, realizing that she hadn't seen Katie in days. "She's in her room. Dad said he'll bring her to see you in a couple of minutes. She's just getting settled."

Lou nodded, unsure of what to say next.

Georgie felt she should say something, anything. Lou seemed she needed it right now. "She's been missing you like crazy."

Lou's eyes lit up for the second time that day. "Really?"

"Of course!" Georgie smiled, looking to her mother with a renewed sense of appreciation, and thankfulness that she was alive. Sometimes it took a scare like this to make you realize how much you love someone, and how much you need them. Because without them, you wouldn't know how to go on living your life. Georgie promised herself she'd take care of Lou as best she could because she wasn't about to lose her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, of course. Why—why are you asking?"

"I don't know. You just seemed a little off when I came in. Everything's fine, right?"

Lou smiled gently. "Of course it is. You don't need to worry about a thing, do you understand? Georgie, look at me. Stop worrying. Everything is fine."

"Okay, I know, but—"

"No buts. Your mom is fine, there's nothing to worry about."

Georgie sighed. "Fine, if you say so."

"Okay, good."

Georgie wasn't entirely convinced, but Lou had said it with such conviction that Georgie was beginning to believe it. She gave not worrying a try. Besides, maybe Lou was fine, and it was all just her imagination.

* * *

Minutes later, Peter led Katie into Lou's room, holding her hand. "Come on, honey. Let's see mommy."

As soon as Katie saw Lou, she froze. She wouldn't move forward, despite Peter's attempts at bringing her forward. It was as if her feet were glued to the floorboards.

"Katie, let's go. Let's see mommy," he repeated.

Lou called out, and held her arm out. "Sweetie, come here. Come to mommy."

"No…" Katie said hesitantly.

"Katie, honey, come here. It's me. It's mommy," Lou said again, in despair.

"I don't want to. I want to go!" Katie shouted. She made a face and buried her face in Peter's shirt. "I wanna go," she cried. "I wanna go."

"Katie, honey, look at me. It's me, it's mommy under all this. Don't be scared," Lou said desperately, her eyes welling up. "Katie?"

Against Peter's torso, Katie violently shook her head. "No!" Tearing herself free from Peter's grasp, Katie ran out of the room.

Peter went after her. "Katie…! Katie, honey…!" Peter called out. "Sweetheart!"

At the same time Peter and Katie were in to see Lou, Georgie made her way downstairs from putting her stuff away in her room.

Someone's phone chimed suddenly. Georgie started, thinking it was hers, but when she brought it out, she saw there were no notifications, that the screen was dark. Her eye then caught Peter's phone resting on the table. She moved ahead, and just before the screen went dark, Georgie saw a familiar name on the screen: _Sylvia_.

A feeling of helplessness and anger resurfaced. The last time her mother had faced this woman, it was because of Georgie's mistake. Georgie knew she could not let her mother feel the brunt of this again.

And her dad…? Was he serious right now? After everything that happened, he was still—she didn't know what _exactly_ he was doing, but there had to have been a reason this woman was texting her father. Or more than texting…she didn't know.

Had they kept in touch? They must have…Georgie couldn't believe her father. _Dad, what are you doing?_

Georgie suddenly became aware of Katie's shouts, and Peter trying to call out to her. It brought Georgie back to the present. She turned, and as she did, she saw Katie running away from the direction of Lou's room, and the young girl ran to Georgie, her body colliding against her sister's. Katie wrapped her little arms around her sister, burying her face in Georgie's torso. Georgie brought her arms to cradle Katie's head, the way she'd seen Lou do a thousand times for her and her sister. "What's wrong!? Katie, what is it?"

Peter came forward. "Georgie, honey…could you take Katie out in the yard, maybe go for some fresh air? She saw Lou, and now she won't stop crying."

Forgetting about Sylvia instantly, Georgie immediately focused her attention on her baby sister. She leaned down and planted a kiss on Katie's head. "Yeah. Katie, hey…let's go out. We can even see your pony." She led Katie to the door. "We'll be back in a bit," she called out to Peter. "I'll text you when we're coming in."

* * *

Looking down at herself, Lou scowled. She was angry, upset and torn all at once. She threw the blanket down on the floor, along with her pillow. She wanted to rip off her bandages and scream and cry out. She obsessively brought her arms to her throat and chest, pressing her collarbones, almost clawing at them, trying to find some space to breath. She sobbed out, angrily. She whimpered, slamming her fists to the bed beside her. Lou leaned back, crying at her harsh reality: her daughter refused to look at her. What did she look like to her? Did she look monstrous? Diseased? What was it that made Katie refuse to even glance at her?

Lou remembered waking up after her surgery, weak and tired. But she had been so shocked and afraid, uncertain of what the future held. Her tears had flowed, quickly and non-stop. She was alone. She hoped for somebody to show up, but nobody did. And when they finally did arrive, it was too late, and she had already gone through hell and back. Today, she faced the same dilemma. He'd won, again. This time, it wasn't her sense of self he'd taken away…this time he'd taken Katie away from her.

What must be going through her young mind? She must've been so scared, so confused. The thing that broke Lou was that _she_ was the thing Katie was afraid of, and she couldn't even go and comfort her daughter. That would only make it worse, and that broke her heart.

Lou suddenly felt her heart racing, she was out of breath and she felt like she was being choked. She looked around, but her vision was blurred and she felt extremely dizzy, so she turned back and closed her eyes, terrified and in pain.

Lou could barely breathe. She felt the way she did that night, when Warren had walked over to her and grabbed her from where she lay still. He shook her and threw her against the wall, where she'd cut her forehead open.

Lou gasped suddenly. In her disoriented state, she was able to understand that this was a new memory that just came to her, that she hadn't been able to recall earlier. This terrified her even further. What other things had happened to her that night that she couldn't remember? That she wasn't aware of? She suddenly gasped, putting her head up, trying to open her airway.

Minutes later, Amy found her way to Lou's room. "Oh my god, Lou!? Lou!" She made her way to Lou's bed, and sat beside her. "What's going on? Talk to me."

Lou was vaguely aware of Amy sitting by her, trying to get her to talk to her. "Lou! Lou, just breathe!"

But that was just it: she couldn't. She wanted to tell her sister that her heart was racing, that she felt the sensation of Warren choking her. She needed Amy to know she could barely hear her and see her, but she was unable to convey any of that to her.

Amy's eyes widened. "Lou!? What is going on—tell me now!" Her voice rose. Why wouldn't Lou say anything? Why wouldn't she respond? Was Lou having a heart attack? Amy observed Lou pressing a hand to her chest, and she was shaking and trembling, as if she were in some sort of physical discomfort. It suddenly hit her.

Lou was having a panic attack, and Amy genuinely didn't know what to do. She worried she'd only make it worse. She needed someone else to come in.

Amy screamed for help. "PETER! PETER! DAD, GRANDPA! SOMEBODY HELP! IT'S LOU!"


	14. Chapter 14

Georgie had helped Katie put on her jacket and boots, and the two girls made their way out the door. As they walked across the yard, Georgie looked down at her sister. Katie was dragging her feet, her head was hung low. Georgie wondered what Katie must be thinking, how she was handling seeing Lou all scraped up. Georgie worried what effect this would have on her little sister.

Georgie wanted to talk to Katie, to try and distract her from whatever she was thinking, but she figured she'd let Katie be for a couple minutes. She didn't want to say the wrong thing because she worried Katie would bolt from her just as she had from their parents. Georgie wanted to create a safe space for Katie, so that she understood that Georgie was on her side, and she wouldn't make her go inside again to see Lou.

Being reminded of Lou, Georgie hoped she was okay too. She sighed regretfully.

Once they arrived inside, Georgie and Katie worked together to get Pogie in the aisle so they could brush him.

Georgie's mind wandered once Katie took the brush from her and began grooming her pony. Georgie hadn't expected Katie to react so strongly to Lou. Peter had sat Katie down the night before and told her that Lou would be in bad shape when she got home, and Katie even seemed to understand and seemed to accept it. Katie had seemed fine the night before…but Georgie knew it was one thing to hear about a loved one being hurt or sick, and another thing to see it firsthand, up close and personal.

Georgie herself had experienced complete shock when she'd seen Lou that first time in the hospital room. Even now, when she knew what to expect, Georgie felt awful seeing Lou so scraped up. She wanted to look away at times, but she knew it would hurt Lou, and she couldn't do that.

For herself, Georgie knew the reason she hated seeing her mother hurt. It terrified her seeing Lou like that because she worried her mother was in pain, or that her injuries would get worse if she weren't careful, or that something would happen unexpectedly and out of the blue, and that she was going to lose her. It brought all sorts of paranoia to her that she couldn't explain or even get rid of.

After a few minutes of silence, Katie said to Georgie, "Is mommy going to die?"

Georgie snapped out of her reverie, her head turning sharply to Katie's direction. "No! Mommy is going to be fine! What—what are you talking about?"

Katie quieted, and Georgie worried she had confused her, or mislead her train of thought. But Katie was right on track. "Mommy looked really sick. Is she going to—?"

"Katie," said Georgie abruptly, interrupting Katie's speech. She knelt on the ground, getting down to Katie's level. She held onto Katie's arm. "Look at me. Katie, mom isn't sick. She's been hurt. You know, it's just like when you and I fall off a horse. We can get scraped up because of that. You understand that right?"

Katie nodded, humming a yes.

"Yeah, so just like when we get hurt, mom helps fix us. She gets us ice, or even bandages if it's really bad. Just like that…mom's been hurt. So, if we take care of her, just like she takes care of us, she will be back to normal. Mommy will be fine…and she won't die."

"Ever?"

Georgie's heart skipped a beat. This was the same worry she had delved on for the past few days. Georgie knew her parents wouldn't be around forever, but she hoped and prayed that when they did depart from this world, that it would happen at a time far off in the future, a time that she couldn't foresee. "Ever. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Alright, let's get back to brushing your horse."

* * *

"Peter! Hurry up!" Amy made her way to the hall.

Peter rushed toward the direction of Amy's voice. "What is it? What's happened?"

"Lou's having a panic attack."

"What!?" He immediately lowered his voice. "Okay, you—you go call Tricia right now. Tell her what's happened, and tell her that she needs to come here as soon as she can. I'll go handle Lou."

"Tricia?"

"Yeah, you heard me. And make sure the girls stay out of the house for a bit."

"No, Lou's not going to want Tricia coming over. It'll just—"

Peter waved a hand. "Amy, this is not up for discussion. I need you to go do as I say."

Peter walked into Lou's room. He saw her blanket and pillow were thrown across the floor. He made his way to her bed, and sat down in front of her. He worried that his touch would make things worse, so he began by just talking. "Lou? It's me, it's Peter. Just listen to my voice."

Lou seemed to grasp on to the fact that Peter was talking to her. She gestured to her neck, saying, "I can't breathe. I think I'm going to die."

Peter was startled. He'd read about these attacks. The victim would think they were in danger of dying, and they'd be unable to breathe, even though physically, they were in good shape. "No, you're perfectly fine, you're okay…" Peter trailed off. "Lou, I need you to breathe."

"I can't." Lou gasped. "I can't. I'm think I'm—I'm going to—"

"You're fine. You're absolutely fine. Just breathe for me…I know you can do it."

Images kept flashing through her mind. Some were from real life occurrences, and some were from dreams. She could barely distinguish from them. The thing they all had in common, though, was that they terrified her. Warren was in every single one of them. She needed to get out this, but to do that, she needed something real to grasp, something to hold onto that would get her out.

"Lou, give me your hand," said Peter.

Lou immediately registered that this was Peter talking to her. What she didn't understand was whether or not he was real. Hesitantly, she brought her hand out.

Peter was relieved Lou was reaching out to him. Slowly but surely, he moved his own hand ahead and took Lou's hand. "Lou, it's Peter. I'm real. I'm with you, and you're safe."

Something seemed to shift. Lou suddenly began to understand that she was safe with Peter, that he was real, and that there was no one else around.

Minutes later, with Peter's guidance, Lou was back to normal. Immediately, she asked about Katie.

"She's alright. Georgie is with her." He quieted a moment. "Lou?" Peter checked. "You okay?"

She nodded, looking down. "Yeah."

He sighed, upset that she had to go through something like this. "Come here," he said, moving to hug her. He figured this was the least he could do to comfort her. He knew how scary these attacks could be, so he wanted to make sure she wasn't alone in this. "You're okay."

"Peter, I was so scared."

"I know…but you don't need to be. I'm here. No one's going to be able to lay a finger on you. Tricia's on her way, alright? You're going to be fine."

Lou closed her eyes. She was able to let her guard down with Peter. He'd been her shelter for so many years, and still continued to be. He'd broken her heart, but somehow, it was still capable of loving him. He was the only one she could trust like this, and he was the only one who could protect her like this. So what had she been thinking when she got with Bennett? She hadn't been thinking, she decided. She shut her eyes tight again, and held onto Peter as if her life depended on it.

They were silent for a bit. Then a couple minutes later, still holding her against him, Peter asked, "Do you know what happened to you just now?"

Lou nodded. "Pretty sure it was a panic attack."

"Right. Just…don't worry about it, okay? It's normal after you've experienced something this traumatic."

"Yeah…I know. I just wish it hadn't happened. Now I'm even more frightened."

"I know, I know. I wish it hadn't happened either. I just think it was because of stress overload. First, we got the news from the police, then the situation with Katie…"

"And grandpa."

"What?" Peter said, gently moving out of the hug. "What's going on with Jack?"

Lou shook her head. "Your guess is as good as mine. I want to see him, talk to him…but I feel as if he's avoiding me. Not knowing why is just…killing me."

Peter nodded, understanding. "He'll come around. He needs time to process."

Lou looked up. "You think so?"

"I'm positive, okay? Just don't worry about it," said Peter, smiling at her. A moment later, he stood up, his hand slipping from Lou's.

Peter went and grabbed her pillow from the floor. He brought it behind her so she could lean back on it. Next, he grabbed the blanket from the floor and folded it, putting it at the foot of the bed. He then began looking around, making sure the room was in good shape for when Tricia arrived.

"Peter, what are you doing?" Lou was confused.

"Uh…I'm just making sure the room looks okay for when Tricia gets here."

Lou chuckled. "Peter, I'm not twelve years old. I know how to keep my room clean."

It was Peter's turn to laugh. "No, I know, I just…"

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Both Lou and Peter turned to the door. Tricia had arrived.

Peter immediately moved forward. "Tricia…Dr. Virani, thank you for coming on such short notice."

"It's not a problem. I'm just glad to be able to help," smiled Tricia.

"I—uh…" Peter glanced over at Lou, giving her a reassuring smile. "I'll be out in the living room." Peter then stepped out of the room, closing the door shut behind him.

* * *

Ty was finished his shift at the clinic, and he figured he'd get a cup of coffee for himself on the way home. He could barely keep his eyes open. He'd been at the hospital all night. He'd slept for maybe one hour. The chair he'd slept in was uncomfortable, to say the least. He had a hard time falling asleep, but it wasn't just the chair, he figured. The situation with Lou had unhinged him more than he admitted to himself. It brought back too much, and he had spent the entire night trying to forget all that as well.

Last night, Ty had called Cassandra and asked if she could make it in a little earlier than she usually did. Thankfully, she had agreed to cover for him until he could make it in. Instead of heading home when Tim and Jack had arrived, he'd gone straight to work.

Ty walked into Maggie's. Looking around, he suddenly noticed Jack sitting alone at a table far off in the corner. Just something about that image saddened Ty. He was confused, as well as concerned. He wondered why Jack was in here. He should be home with Lou and the rest of the family, right?

Ty walked over. "Jack?"

Jack looked up from his empty cup. "Ty, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question. I just…came in for coffee."

"Yeah…me too," Jack said, gesturing to his cup.

"Can I join you?"

"Sure."

Ty moved to sit across from Jack. "Okay, Jack…what's going on?"

"Nothing's going on."

"Really? Because I spoke to Amy on the phone a couple hours ago, and she said you haven't been home all day."

"Well, I was working. Then I came here for the coffee. I just like the quiet of this place."

"Jack, this is a diner. I doubt it's quiet in here. Besides, it's plenty quiet at home."

Jack went silent, unsure of what to say.

"What's going on? Why haven't you been to see Lou? She's been asking for you."

Jack looked up, his eyes full of pain. "I don't know, to be honest with you. This is all just too much to take in."

It was silent for a bit. By the way Jack was conducting himself, Ty figured the conversation was over. Jack didn't seem to be in the mood to talk.

But a moment later, Jack spoke. "It's a number of things, I guess…like the fact that she never told me what was happening to her, what he had been doing to her. And I was completely clueless, and for so long too…I can't even begin to imagine what he put her through."

"I get that," Ty said quietly.

"And the fact that I wasn't able to protect her," said Jack, pursing his lips, trying to keep himself together. "I almost lost her, Ty. And I was completely oblivious to it…you remember she hinted that day when she was angry that Tim and I were leaving. She was agitated, she was nervous, and I completely ignored it. And then the next morning. How did I not notice her bedroom door swinging wide open?"

Ty saw that Jack was getting himself worked up. Immediately, he was worried. Ty knew he had to say something, to help lessen Jack's guilt. "Jack, listen to me. None of us noticed. We were all oblivious. It wasn't just you."

"Doesn't matter if nobody else noticed. I'm her grandfather. It's my job to notice. I've always protected and guarded her from the time she could fit in my arms," said Jack, shaking his head. "How did I miss this? How could I let this happen? Can you just imagine…" said Jack, his gaze unfocused on the table in front of him. "...how much pain she must've been in, how scared and alone she must've been…?" Jack sighed. "How will I face her?"

"Jack, please. Don't do this."

Again, Jack was silent.

"Jack, why don't we go home? You've been here long enough."

"Can we stay here a while longer?"

Ty was a little relieved. It seemed Jack wanted his company, and he wouldn't ask him to leave or anything of the sort. "We can stay for as long as you need."

The two men sat in their little bubble for the next little while. The diner was emptying out, and Ty noticed it was only a few minutes to closing time, but he didn't say anything, wanting Jack to be able to have this time to himself before he went home. Ty worried for him though, and he wanted to reach out, but he figured Jack's healing process would take some time. He just hoped that the stress of this situation wouldn't affect Jack's health.

"It's getting late. We should get going," said Jack.

Ty looked up. "I'll drive."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hey guys! I completely forgot to do the author's note for the last chapter. I'm so sorry! I wanted to thank everyone for the reviews, especially my Guest reviewer (you know who you are ;). I think I've read those reviews at least ten times. Thank you so, so much for your kind words, it really helps and encourages me to write more, to be honest with you. I'm so glad you love this story, and I hope this chapter won't disappoint! :D Jack and Lou will be face to face very soon (in the next chapter) and I can't wait to post that. Thanks again, you are the best!**

* * *

When Jack and Ty entered the house, Amy was in the kitchen doing the dishes.

When she saw them, Amy smiled, relieved, to say the least. "Hey…you guys missed dinner. I kept dinner heated for you in the oven, though."

Jack nodded, beginning to take off his jacket.

"Sounds great, Amy. I'm starving," added Ty.

Amy noticed Jack's tired face. "Grandpa, you look exhausted…you look like you could use some sleep."

Jack chuckled. "Sleep would be nice."

As Jack and Ty finished taking off their coats and boots, Amy asked, "Where were you two, anyway?"

Ty looked up at his wife, giving her a slight shake of his head.

Instead of answering, Jack simply asked, "Is Lou asleep?"

"Yeah, she has been for hours."

"Hours?"

"Yeah…" Amy said hesitantly, glancing over at Ty. "Look, I need to tell you something. Just…don't freak out, please."

Jack was immediately worried. "What is it?"

"Well, something happened today…"

"Amy, what happened?" Ty asked, moving forward.

"She's fine, just so you know. Absolutely fine. She just…" Amy checked to see if the coast was clear. She didn't want Georgie coming in and hearing everything, not after the effort Peter and her had put in to make sure the girls didn't find out about Lou. "Lou had a panic attack today."

"What...?" Jack said, flustered.

"Yeah, but it's nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about? Panic attacks…people think they're dying, they can't even breathe," Jack said, upset.

" _Think_ they can't breathe. But she was completely fine, alright? It's just…the reason I told you is because we all need to know that we can't stress her out anymore."

"What was she stressed about today?"

Amy swallowed. "Well, the police are being of no help. They're being absolutely useless. And then Katie came home from school and she reacted badly to Lou's injuries, and she just ran away…"

"And what else?"

"That's it," Amy lied.

"Amy," Jack urged her.

Amy sighed. "Grandpa, she kept asking for you, all day. I think eventually she realized you were avoiding her, and she couldn't take it."

Jack went silent again, immersed in his guilt all over again.

"How long has she been asleep for?" Ty asked.

"Well, we had to call Dr. Virani in, and-"

Jack was startled again. "It was that bad?"

"No, it's just that the first time someone has one of these panic attacks, you're supposed to get them medical attention. It's just recommended, according to Peter. And so, Tricia came and she gave Lou some sort of sedative. She was exhausted, grandpa, and I don't think staying awake would've done her any good, not physically, not mentally…"

"I see."

"Grandpa, she's fine. It's just that…now, we need to make sure we don't stress her out, not until she's stronger."

"Right," said Jack, sitting down at the roundtable, unable to stand anymore.

* * *

Georgie had hoped she would have a peaceful sleep that night. The last couple of days and nights had been crazy. Tonight, she thought, would be different. But she was wrong. She tossed and turned all night.

 _In her room, Georgie had been scrolling through her feed when she heard a loud crash come from downstairs. She immediately jolted, her stomach muscles tightening, her heart beginning to pound in her rib cage. Georgie breathed in, and stood from her bed, making her way downstairs._

 _Lou and Peter were standing in the kitchen when she got there, and they seemed to be in a heated argument. Peter seemed angry, almost threatening and intimidating. Lou was trying to stay calm and controlled, and she was trying to get Peter to calm down._

 _Peter suddenly shoved Lou, striking her on her shoulder. Lou cried out, stumbling back. "Peter, stop it. Just stop!"_

 _Peter wouldn't listen. He moved forward and grabbed Lou by her arm, jolting her._

 _Georgie ran ahead and got in between her parents. She moved Lou back, trying to create distance between her and Peter. "Dad, stop it!"_ _Peter tried moving forward, but Georgie stood in the way, putting a hand to Peter's arm. "Dad, stop!"_

 _Peter suddenly backed up. He said something that Georgie couldn't quite make out._

" _What? What did you say?"_

 _Peter pointed behind Georgie. "Your mother…"_

 _Georgie turned, and just as she did, she saw Lou close the bathroom door behind her. Georgie heard the lock switch._

 _After a tense minute of standing by the sink, Lou moved to the cabinet and took out her sleeping pills. Her hands were shaking and she was having a hard time opening the bottle. Her fingers were attempting to open it when there was suddenly a knock on the bathroom door._

 _Startled, Lou dropped the pills and they splattered all over the floor. She sighed heavily, knowing perfectly well the person on the other side of the door had heard them fall as well._

" _Mom…? Are you alright?" It was Georgie._

" _Yeah, I'm fine!" Lou called out._

" _Okay, but I need you to open the door."_

" _Honey, in a minute." Lou requested._

" _No. Now." Georgie wasn't having it. What was going on in there?_

 _Georgie scrambled to find a key. It was hidden under the doormat of the bathroom. She seized it and swung the door open. There was Lou, on the ground, gathering the pills. She had the bottle in her hand, clutched tightly. Georgie knelt down beside Lou and went to grab the bottle._

 _Lou pulled it away. "I'll be just fine. You go."_

" _Mom!" Georgie grabbed the bottle from her mother and it went flying, the pills all splattering across the floor._

Georgie gasped awake. Realizing it was a dream, she sighed heavily. She sat up in bed, and she rubbed her temples. "Damn it…"

Georgie reached over and grabbed her phone to look at the time. It was early, almost three a.m.

Georgie got out of bed and headed downstairs. Just like the last time, she went to the bathroom and washed her face. She was about to head into the kitchen when she stopped in the hall. She went to Lou's room, and opened the door.

Lou was fast asleep in her bed. Georgie sighed, content. She moved ahead and climbed into bed beside her mother.

She thought to herself, she'd never been able to do this as a young girl…after having a nightmare, she never climbed into her parents' bed. Ever. She was now, though. Except now she was older, much too old to be climbing in with her mom after having a bad dream.

Soon after, Georgie fell asleep beside Lou. This time, she had a restful sleep.

A few hours later, when the sun was up, Lou's eyes flitted open. Without even having to look, she felt somebody asleep beside her. Maybe it was Amy.

Lou looked over to find Georgie asleep beside her. She was laying on her side, facing Lou's direction. The mother smiled to herself. Asleep, Georgie looked so innocent, as if she didn't carry all that baggage with her from her past. Lou's heart was overwhelmed by Georgie beside her. She chuckled to herself. Using her elbow, she lifted herself up, and moved over to plant a kiss on Georgie's temple.

Moving back to her spot, she sighed. The headache was back, and she was suddenly aware of how sore she was. Lou hoped she'd heal fast. She didn't like being around Georgie and Katie looking the way she did. And of course, she knew they didn't like it either. Georgie was good at hiding it for her sake, but Katie certainly wasn't…Lou tried not to think about it. She didn't want yesterday's fiasco to happen again.

A while later, Georgie awoke.

Lou immediately looked over to speak to her. "Honey. Georgie, sweetheart…is everything okay?"

Georgie nodded. "Yeah. I just had a bad dream, and then I came in here. That's all. Sorry, I probably freaked you out."

"No, no…you didn't. You've just never done this before," Lou smiled. "I was surprised," she said, laughing gently. Lou reached over and put a loving hand to Georgie's face.

Georgie looked up. Looking at her mother, she was suddenly reminded of the dream she had. Her throat went dry. She sucked in her breath.

"Honey, what was the bad dream you had?"

Georgie stopped. What would she say now? She wasn't about to tell Lou what she'd really dreamt of. She wasn't about to make that mistake. "You and dad were fighting, that's all."

"Oh…well, it was just a dream. We're not really fighting. You know that, right?"

Georgie nodded. "Yep."

"Hey, I think I'm going to head to the bathroom."

Georgie looked over. "Do you need help walking over?"

Lou nodded, laughing a little. "Yeah."

"Okay." Georgie stood and walked over to the other side of the bed. She first helped Lou sit up carefully, and then when she was ready, Georgie helped her stand up. Georgie held out her arm for her mother to grab onto. When Lou latched on, Georgie moved her other hand to Lou's side. "Yeah, just go slowly."

When Lou stood, she suddenly felt a stabbing pain go through her abdomen. "Honey, wait," she said, stopping in her tracks. She put a hand to Georgie's shoulder to steady herself.

"What is it? Something wrong?"

Lou grimaced. She tried to compose herself.

Georgie waited. She could feel her heart beginning to race in her ribcage.

A moment later, Lou breathed out. "It's gone."

"What was it?"

"Just some internal pain."

"What…?" Georgie's voice faltered.

Lou brought her hand up to Georgie's face. "It's alright. I just need a minute."

"Okay," said Georgie quietly.

Lou breathed out suddenly. "Okay…let's go."

Georgie led her mother into the hall and toward the bathroom. "Are you sure you don't want me to call Amy?"

"Oh, I can handle this. It's fine."

"Okay, I'll be out here if you need something."

Lou nodded and headed into the bathroom.

A while later, Georgie heard Lou open the tap. A couple minutes after, she heard a clang on the other side of the door. Georgie moved ahead, and knocked on the door. "Mom…? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll just be a minute," Lou called out.

"Okay…" Suddenly the dream came back to her. Georgie sighed tightly, trying to forget it.

Jack had come into the living room just as Georgie had gone to knock on Lou's door. He now moved ahead and asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine."

Jack nodded, and headed into the kitchen. Georgie heard him walk out the front door. What was going on with him?

About a minute later, Lou emerged. She held onto the door frame. "Was that grandpa? I need to talk to him."

Georgie moved ahead and grabbed onto Lou just as she had before. "Yeah, that was him. But he left."

Lou brought her arm around Georgie, and just as she did, she heard Jack's truck start up. "Honey, wait."

"Lou, I need to get you inside."

"No, I need to talk to grandpa."

"Okay, you will. But not now, you need to be in bed."

"Georgie, I'll be fine. I need to talk to grandpa."

"He just left, but he'll be back."

Lou shook her head stubbornly. "No, he's probably still there warming up his truck. If you won't call him for me, I'll go myself," she said, moving ahead, releasing herself from Georgie's grasp.

Lou suddenly doubled over, yelling out in pain. Her hand went to her stomach and she reached out the other for Georgie.

Georgie immediately came ahead and held onto Lou. "Mom—" She moved forward and guided a hand to her back and held onto her arm to keep her steady. "What's wrong?" Georgie's breathing began to come out jaggedly, her heart was beginning to race.

After what seemed like an eternity, Lou let out a tired sigh. She seemed alright.

"What was it?"

"Same as before."

Georgie knew that was Lou's cover, but she didn't say anything. "Alright, let's get you inside."

After getting Lou back inside, Georgie rushed into the kitchen.

She quickly found a few things to make a light breakfast for Lou, and about fifteen minutes later, she returned.

"I brought you something. You need to take your medicines, but not on an empty stomach."

"Sweetheart, I don't need my meds right now."

"Oh yeah? Then what was that in the hall just now?"

Lou relented. "Alright, fine. I'll take it."

Georgie walked over and handed the tray to Lou. She then grabbed the medicine bottles she knew Lou needed from the drawer and put them on the table. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of them.

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry," Lou said suddenly.

Georgie laughed. "It's fine. I'm over it."

"Doesn't sound like it."

Georgie stopped what she was doing. She breathed in. She looked at Lou. She had half a mind to stay angry with her mother, but after a moment, the anger melted away.

"No, I worried you and frustrated you. There was no need for that."

Georgie stopped. "It's fine. Can we just stop talking about it?"

"I'm really sorry."

Georgie smiled. "It's okay. You just scared me. I thought we'd have to rush you to the hospital or something."

"Right…I know, that's what I thought too."

"Look, just…promise me you won't put yourself in any sort of danger."

"What?"

"Whether it's by accident or—" Georgie broke off, sighing, "or on purpose."

"On purpose?"

Pursing her lips, she said, "Yeah." When Lou gave her a look, she answered. "Like…you know, on _purpose_."

"Georgie…! I—" Lou broke off, parting her lips. She was unsure of what to say. She sighed, and said, "Honey, look at me. I would never. I could never even dream about leaving you and your sister behind, not in a million years. The only way I'd ever…leave this world…is when it's from something I can't control. Okay?"

Georgie looked down, her lip was trembling. Lou saw her eyes were glistening. She looked like she was in literal, physical pain.

Georgie bit her lip, blinking her eyes fast and hard.

Lou was about to ask her something, it seemed, when there was a knock at the door. It was Amy.

Georgie sighed, relieved. The cat was out of the bag now, and Lou would surely bring this up again, but at least not now.

"Look who's here bright and early to check up on you," said Amy, a smile at her lips.

"I'm going to get ready for school…" Georgie said as she retreated quietly, out of the room. "See you, Amy. Bye Lou," Georgie called out over her shoulder.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hey y'all! Once again, thanks for your amazing reviews! So let me just answer your questions quickly...basically the intent of the dream was to show that Georgie is struggling, and her mind is scrambled and she is scared and uncertain of the future. Obviously, she loves both Lou and Peter, but when she saw Sylvia's call, it sort of reminded her of why her family was in this mess in the first place, and through the dream, we see she kind of blames Peter for what's happening. (You nailed the explanation perfectly yourself!)**

 **With the pills, I wanted to show that Georgie has a fear of losing Lou, so her brain took all that and dreamt up that despairing scenario. And yeah, Jack was being very stubborn in the last chapter, but this chapter shows his other, loving side. Also, Georgie calls her parents by their first names sometimes because that's how it was when she first came to Heartland, and I guess it's hard to change your ways sometimes. I try to put myself in her shoes and see when it would make sense for her to call Lou and Peter by their names, and when it would make sense for her to say mom and dad.**

 **I'm really excited for you guys to read this chapter! There's a few things mentioned in this chapter that are the seed for what's to come...maybe you guys can try and guess? So let me know what y'all think about this chapter ;) Enjoy xoxo**

* * *

Lou was sitting up in bed, reading something terribly boring, when Jack walked to her room. When Lou heard his footsteps approach, she immediately knew it was him. Looking up, she breathed out, "Grandpa."

Jack stopped at the door. He moved to take off his hat, placing it in his hands. Jack moved ahead into the room.

Lou's gaze followed her grandfather, her eyes getting misty. "Grandpa…where were you? All day yesterday…"

Jack sat in the chair beside her bed. "Honey, I was out. Working."

"All day?"

"Well, I came home eventually, but you were…"

"Completely unconscious. Yeah, I know."

"Asleep—you were asleep."

Lou looked at him. "Right. Why did you not—are you angry at me…? Is that it—because if that's the case, then—"

"I'm not angry with you," Jack said tiredly.

Lou stopped. "Then…? I thought that's why you refused to come see me."

"That's not why."

Lou was relieved, to say the least. "Okay, so…what was it?"

"It all just came as a shock to me that…that you'd been hurt. The shock, followed by the confusion…I didn't know how to deal. It happened so suddenly."

Lou nodded, unsure of how to respond.

"And I know I put you in a bad place by—by avoiding talking to you. I just didn't know how to face you."

"Face me?" Lou said, bewildered. "What are you talking about? Grandpa, look at me."

Jack looked up. "When Marion died, I wasn't there. I couldn't do anything, and I never got to have that last goodbye with her…"

"Grandpa…" Lou said, her throat getting heavy.

"So I promised her, and to myself…that I would keep you and your sister safe, and alive…" He trailed off, trying to collect his thoughts. "See, Lou…the thing is, a father isn't supposed to outlive his child. When it happened with Marion, I just kept thinking that it should've been me, because I'd lived my whole life, she was barely halfway through hers."

As a mother herself, Lou knew exactly where Jack was coming from. She understood his feelings exactly.

"And had I lost you too…" Jack trailed off. "I would have failed her again, and I would have failed that promise I made."

"Grandpa, stop. You—you didn't know what was going on. This isn't on you."

"Maybe not, but I definitely noticed the change in you. You were looking weaker and weaker, more tired and pale everyday, and I chose—me, it was me—to let it slide. So it _is_ on me."

"Grandpa, it's fine," Lou said, a little surprised that Jack had even noticed all that. She'd barely noticed it herself.

"If it had been fine, then you wouldn't be here all scraped up. And you don't think I know what happened yesterday? I'm perfectly and completely aware that it happened because of me. I have one too many things to apologize for."

"No. This is all on me, okay? _Yesterday_ should be all on me. I just…I overreacted, but I just wanted to see you. I missed you," Lou said, looking down.

"You didn't overreact. Don't belittle yourself like that."

Lou smiled at him, pursing her lips. "Okay, I won't."

Jack put a hand to her arm. "Do you have any idea how precious you are to us, how valuable? Your life is a precious gift to us all…to me, your father, your mother when she was alive…your sister, and your two girls. Know that and understand it."

Lou was silent, unsure of what to say. She knew if she spoke, she'd end up saying the wrong thing.

Jack stood and brought her head to rest on his shoulders. "It's okay, honey. It'll be alright." Planting a kiss on the top of her head, he said, "I love you."

Lou shut her eyes tight, tears slipping down on her cheeks. Lou held on tighter to Jack. "I love you, too."

* * *

After school, Georgie and Jade drove into Maggie's. The both of them were exhausted from a long day at school, and they just wanted some down time before they headed home and started on more schoolwork and whatnot.

"So, how's your mom doing?" Jade asked as they arrived at the diner.

"I don't know…not too well, I guess. She…" Georgie trailed off, blowing out her breath. As they both sat, Georgie said, "She's in a lot of pain, I know…even though she won't let on. I can't stand watching her like that. It—it hurts, and I feel helpless, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," said Jade thoughtfully.

"And yesterday, Katie went to go see her…"

"Yeah…?"

"And she completely freaked out and she ran out of the room crying. I took her out to see her pony, you know…to distract her. I think I got through to her, and she'll be okay."

"That's good, Georgie."

"Yeah, I guess…except I'm almost certain that something happened while the two of us were out. I—I could be wrong, but I think I saw your mom's truck coming in to Heartland when Katie and I were headed out on the trail."

"Oh…well, what do you think could've happened?"

Georgie shrugged. "I don't know, to be honest."

Jade sighed, "Georgie, I'm really sorry this is happening."

"Thanks. I just…want things to go back to normal. Even though our normal sucked, it was better than this."

"Yeah, I know how you feel. Just one foot in front of the other, I guess…until things get better."

Georgie smiled. "Yeah."

Georgie's phone suddenly started ringing. When she saw it was Lou calling, she was startled. Her heartbeat accelerated, and she looked to Jade, "It's Lou, I should take this…"

Jade nodded.

Georgie answered the phone. "Hey, mom, I was just about to—"

"Georgie, where are you?" Lou's voice was tense.

"I—wait, why? What's the matter?"

"Just answer me."

"I'm at Maggie's with Jade."

Georgie heard Lou sigh. She sounded relieved. "She's with Jade at Maggie's," Georgie heard Lou say to someone beside her. It was most likely Peter.

"What's the problem?"

"Honey, you're supposed to come straight home, on the bus with Katie."

"What, so now I'm not even allowed to have a life anymore?"

"Sweetheart, you come home right now."

"No, Lou, we _just_ got here!" Georgie argued, dismayed her plans with her best friend were falling through. They barely spent any time together these days anyway.

"Georgie, I'm not looking for an argument right now."

"What are you worried about? Just let me stay here for a bit! He's not going to come in here and attack me, alright?" Georgie let out, a little harsh.

"Hey, Georgie," Jade whispered across the table to her friend. "It's okay. We can go."

Georgie noticed that Lou had gone silent on the other end of the line. Georgie had gone too far. "Fine, we're coming home."

* * *

"She's just fine. Her and Jade are on their way. Thank god…"

"Okay, that's good. You know…maybe we should explain the situation with the police to her in more detail," said Peter.

"Sure, we'll talk to her," said Lou. She sighed, leaning back against her pillows.

Lou and Peter fell silent for the next little while.

"Daddy?"

Peter swung around, and at the same time, he stood up. It was Katie. "Honey, do you want to come in? See mommy?"

Katie was leaning against the door frame, her expression nervous and uncertain. She nodded.

Peter walked over to her, and held out his hand. "Okay, give me your hand. Let's go see mommy."

As Katie put her hand into her father's, they both moved ahead, slowly but surely. By the time they reached Lou, Katie was in front of Peter making her way to her mother on her own.

"Hi, you," said Lou, as she watched Katie walk over to her.

Katie stopped at the edge of the bed, putting her hands flat down on the mattress.

Lou began, "Honey, don't be scared, okay? Under the bandages, it's still me, it's still mommy. The bandages are there to help. You understand that, right?"

"Mm-hmm," Katie said thoughtfully. "Georgie told me yesterday." She paused, and then climbed up into bed beside Lou.

She paused a second more, and then she threw her little arms around Lou and hugged her as tight as her tiny frame could allow it.

Lou hugged Katie back and kissed her daughter's temple. She felt better immediately. Suddenly, all she'd been through, it just didn't matter anymore. Her baby was back in her arms, and her shattered spirit was on its way to reform. Sitting in this exact spot with Katie in her arms brought her back to the day Katie was born, the first time she'd held her daughter in her arms…

When Katie moved away from the hug, she looked at the bandage on Lou's forehead. She put her small fingers to the strip of bandages. "Mama, what happened?"

"I hit my head. But just don't worry, okay? Mommy's going to be fine."

"Oh...does it hurt?"

"No, no it doesn't." Lou choked up. She was smiling, laughing through the tears.

"Good." Katie cupped her hands to Lou's face, and brought her closer. The young girl planted a kiss on her mother's forehead. "There, now you'll get better really fast."

"Thank you, sweetheart." Lou gushed at her daughter's innocence. Taking Katie's hands in hers, Lou kissed them. She brought Katie back into an embrace, holding her tight and snug. She looked up at Peter right then, smiling.

Peter observed Lou. She had that same look in her eyes the day Katie had been born; one of excitement, joy and fulfillment. He smiled back.

* * *

"Look…before you say anything…I'm so sorry for what I said back at the diner. It was so selfish of me to say, and I—you didn't need that, and I'm sorry."

Lou waved away her daughter's worrying. "It's fine, I'm just glad you're okay. I…" Lou trailed off, "You know that the police haven't tracked him down yet, and that's why I was just so worked up…"

"Yeah, I assumed. Or else you or Peter would've told me something by now, right?"

Lou nodded. "Yeah."

Georgie walked over and sat by Lou's bedside. "Okay, just forget about it for now. I'm sure it'll all work itself out. You'll be just fine, I promise, okay? I just…well, I wanted to talk to you about what I said this morning."

"Look, I know what you said, and I get why you might be scared about me doing something like that, but there's absolutely nothing to worry about, alright? I'm fine. Physically, I'll take some time to heal…but emotionally? I am ready to take on whatever obstacles come our way. I would never dare hurt myself, I swear it to you. I'm going to be here for you and your sister. I'm going to be strong for the two of you."

"Not just for us."

"What?" Lou said, smiling.

"Be strong for yourself as well."

Lou laughed gently. "Okay, I will try."

Georgie looked at Lou sadly. "No…you'll do more than try, okay? I want you to be confident and happy, and I want you to _love_ and _value_ yourself, do you understand?" Wrapping her arms around her, Georgie engulfed Lou's frame with her own. "I love you," she said, planting a few kisses on Lou's temple. "And you're the best, most beautiful, most perfect mom in the world, and I couldn't ask for a better one. And I love you so much."

"I love you too, honey," was all Lou said, because suddenly, she was at a loss for words. She was taken aback, in the best way possible, by Georgie's growth and maturity this past year.

Georgie moved back. "You know…ever since I could remember, I heard people around me say that I'd only be happy if my parents were happy, or any elder that was—fostering or in charge of me—and I never really understood it. Or maybe I did, but I just didn't care about any of them…and I never felt that contentment and satisfaction seeing them happy…I only ever felt that with you and Peter."

Lou reached out and held onto Georgie's hands. She kissed them lovingly.

"And that's all I want, I promise. I don't want anything else, or need anything else. I just want you happy and healthy and full of life. I want you the way you were before this whole mess began with the separation and the divorce…I know it's a lot to ask just so suddenly and out of the blue, but…I want you to love yourself just as much as I love you, and I love you beyond words, Lou. I'd do anything and everything for you."

"Yeah?" Lou said, smiling. "Like what?"

"Like I'd take a bullet for you."

Lou felt her heart drop. "Don't you dare go there…" Before Georgie could say anything in return, Lou brought her daughter against her. "Don't you dare."

"I'm dead serious, okay? I mean it—"

"Shh," said Lou, unable to bear the thought of Georgie going through anything of the kind. "Don't say it."

Georgie said, "So you promise?"

Still holding her against her, Lou said to Georgie, "You want me happy? Then I'm going to need you to take care of yourself and your sister, so that you both stay safe and happy, okay?"

Georgie leaned her head on Lou's shoulder. "Okay, I will. But you have to promise as well."

Lou hugged her tighter, planting a kiss on her hair. "I promise."

And suddenly, it felt like everything would be okay, that things would get better, and that maybe, just maybe…this whole chapter was behind them.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: So just quickly before we get into the chapter, to Guest, I so want for Lou to be strong and happy by the end of this story. That is exactly my intent. And honestly, the way you put it made perfect sense! I really want this story to have a happy ending as well, but this chapter is the complete opposite of that. Writing it, I was on the verge of breaking, it was so hard to finish :( I am now wondering how you guys will like this chapter *insert thinky emoji***

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It was a little over three weeks since Lou had been attacked, and while her wounds were far from healed, she was stronger, and able to move around the house without any support. Her and Peter had spent a lot of time together with the girls, and it almost felt like old times to Lou. They felt like a true family unit again, and Lou didn't know what it all meant, but it was fresh and exciting and they were all happy.

Lou felt as though she were beginning to feel like herself again. She was happier, and she was working on forgetting and healing the nightmare she'd been through over the past few months.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and Georgie was upstairs in her room. In a week, Christmas holidays would begin and Georgie was working away on an assignment that was due just before school ended, and she was almost done with it too, with only a few minor things to touch up on.

Downstairs, Lou was in the kitchen catching up on work. She was seated at the roundtable, working on her laptop. She typed away, sending emails, writing up cost reports for Maggie's, and the dude ranch.

The door front door opened, and at first she figured it was Peter returning from dropping off Katie at Lisa's, so she didn't think anything of it. She was sitting with her back to the front door, and as soon as she heard him step into the house, without looking behind her, she knew it wasn't Peter.

Warren was back.

Lou's stomach muscles tightened, her breath becoming hitched in her throat. She was shaking as she stood and turned to the door. And it was him, alright.

"Warren—" her voice came out jagged.

"Hey, Lou. Long time no see," he said coolly, stepping into the kitchen.

Lou backed up a couple steps.

"I've missed you. It's been a long few weeks without you."

Lou was shaking and she needed to hold onto the roundtable to steady herself. She didn't even notice there was a plate resting over the edge of the table, and she put her hand down looking for the table, but it landed on the plate and the plate flipped and landed onto the floor in front of her, breaking into pieces, both big and small. She gasped, stepping back and away from the shards.

"Look what you did…you stupid woman," Warren said, eyeing her.

Lou backed up, feeling her way behind her until she bumped violently into the counter.

He strode ahead, stepping over the broken plate, and moving toward Lou. "You stupid woman…" Once he was near her, he brought his hand up to the side of her face, and eventually brought it through her hair, holding it near the roots, tight and aggressive.

Lou swallowed hard. "Warren, what are you—what are you doing here?"

"Why do you think I'm here?" He said, leaning in closer.

Lou leaned back, putting a hand to his chest, putting pressure on him to move back.

He backed away a couple inches.

Lou tried to free herself from him, to make her way out from the side, but he had his hands now on both sides of her, resting them on the counter around her.

"Look, Lou," he began, grabbing onto her right arm, and jolting it a little to get her to look at him. "It's simple. I'm here…because I want you back. See, the thing is…you hurt me when you called things off, and I just love you so much, and I went crazy when I thought I was going to lose you."

Lou's breath hitched in her throat thinking back to that night. "You—you almost killed me…"

He sighed, bringing a hand to the side of her face.

Lou immediately wanted to retreat from his touch, but she just couldn't. He had her cornered, and she had no space to move.

"Look, I wasn't in my right mind…you need to understand that, and I knew that if I let you go, you would start a life with someone new…someone that wasn't me. I couldn't let that happen. Losing you wasn't an option."

 _And trying to kill me was?_ Lou wanted to smack him in the mouth. Her anger was boiling, but so was her fear of this man. She was afraid nobody would come to her defense in time, just like that night…where was Peter? He should've been back by now.

"But let's just forget about all that, okay? We can move on from that…we can go live the rest of our lives, and be happy, together."

"But I'm perfectly happy with my life here, with—"

"What? With those children of yours? They are going to give you nothing but heartache. They'll leave you and they'll abandon you and go off in a few years when they're through with you. You're _nothing_ to them," he said, spitting out those last words.

"I'm their mother…I'm everything to them, and more importantly, they're everything to _me_. If you don't understand that, then—"

"Then what!?" He let out angrily, slamming a fist to the counter space beside her, leaning in closer. "If I don't understand that, then what!?"

She jolted, her heart racing and accelerating more and more, it seemed, with each passing second. She was sure he would grab her by her throat again, just like the last time he was here. She was sure she'd have to begin screaming for help, but—no, she couldn't do that. Her daughter was the only one home, and if she got a hint of what—

Suddenly there was the sound of glass breaking against something. Before Lou had time to react, Warren shouted, screaming out in pain. He backed away, a hand going to the back of his head. He moved toward the sink, clearing Lou's view, and that's when Lou saw Georgie drop the glass vase to the floor. Georgie had hit him with it.

 _Oh my god…_

"Honey—honey, go inside…" Lou said, moving over to Georgie. "Sweetheart, go!" Lou put her hands around Georgie's shoulders, guiding her away from the kitchen. "Just go inside, please—!"

Georgie was listening to every single word Lou was saying, but she was frozen in fear. In fear that she'd made Bennett angry, and that he'd take out his anger on Lou once she left. And now too, when she had spent all these weeks getting better.

"Georgie—go! Please!" Lou said, glancing back and forth from Warren to Georgie. "Please, I'm begging you."

Lou had her hold on Georgie so that she wouldn't try to get in front of her. It was frustrating, because part of Georgie wanted to do just that and she could, physically at least, because she was stronger than Lou right now. But another part of her was scared and frightened to her core, frozen in place, so she complied with Lou.

Warren angrily walked over to them, stepping onto the broken china. It crunched under his feet. "You little brat!" He screamed.

Lou engulfed Georgie in her arms, trying to shield every inch of her body with her own, trying to keep him away from her child. "Stop—just stop it! Leave her alone!" Lou's voice tore out from her throat.

Warren grabbed onto Lou's shoulder and pulled her away, slamming her into the fridge, her head hitting its edge.

Lou screamed, her vision suddenly blurry and her head spinning. In her dizzy state, she moved to grab onto Georgie, but Warren was faster and stronger and he swiftly yanked Georgie away and shoved her toward the desk.

Georgie crashed into the wooden table, reaching up her hand to the window to steady herself, and putting her other hand to the chair. She could feel her heart racing against her ribcage, her breathing coming out shallow and jagged. She turned around, and looked him in the eye. She swallowed hard. He had this crazed look in his eye, like he was about to do something to her.

Warren reached behind him, and brought out a gun. He pointed it to Georgie, walking closer. When he was close enough, he touched the tip of it to her forehead aggressively and Georgie's head tilted back.

"WARREN!" Lou screamed desperately. She made her way over to them in a daze, barely able to keep her eyes open. Georgie's words rung in her ears.

 _I'd take a bullet for you._

"Warren—!" Lou let out. "Look at me. I'm begging you, don't shoot. Take me, do to me whatever the hell you want, just leave my daughter out of this. Please. Let her go…" she said, pained.

"No one has to get hurt, _Lou_. Just listen to me, and don't interrupt."

Lou looked at Georgie. She looked calm, but her eyes were a different story. Lou could tell she was afraid, so afraid. Looking at him, she said, "Okay, you have my word."

"Okay, good," he said, cocking his head to the side. "Look, I want us to be together. The reason I came out here is to tell you that we will be together, very soon. I'll call you when I'm ready for you. Do you understand?"

Lou looked at him. Was he really serious? Afraid of what he would do to her baby girl, she nodded nervously. "Yeah, yeah…"

"Good," he said, removing the gun from Georgie's forehead, and just like that, he pushed Georgie forward, shoving her hard and fast.

Georgie she stumbled into Lou's arms.

Lou gasped as she felt the impact of Georgie's body colliding against hers. On impact, she herself stumbled back a few steps, but relief washed over her. "It's okay, you're okay. I've got you," Lou reassured both herself and Georgie as she brought both her arms around her daughter, shielding her from the monster that stood in front of them. "I've got you."

Against Lou's chest, Georgie could feel her mother's heart racing faster and faster. She could feel Lou shaking against her, and Georgie tried her best to hold her as tight as she could, even in her own disheveled state.

Walking forward ever so eerily, he said, "And no police this time." Cocking his head back, he eyed Lou.

Lou's throat went dry. She went cold all over. "Warren, what are you—"

Warren's hand suddenly shot forward, and he backhanded Lou across her cheekbone.

Lou cried out, but instead of moving a hand to where he struck her, Lou simply clung onto Georgie tighter. The stone on his ring had pierced her cheekbone, and it stung and burned.

Hearing the sound of impact of Warren's hand to her mother's face, Georgie flinched, involuntarily letting out a pained and jagged breath, and clinging on tighter to Lou, if that was possible. She felt Lou's grasp on her tighten as well, as if to make sure Georgie wouldn't let go.

"That was for Jasper…" He craned his neck backward, and said, "You didn't think I'd find out? Now let me be clear—no police. Understood?"

Bringing a hand protectively around Georgie's head, Lou said defiantly, "I got it."

It seemed as if he were about to move forward again, or say something else, but he didn't get the chance because Peter came rushing into the house.

As soon as he saw Warren, and Lou standing with Georgie in her arms, Peter knew that something had happened. He immediately reacted. "Hey!"

Within a second, Peter had Warren by his collar. He swung him around and pushed him back toward where he was just standing. Warren's head hit the doorframe to the mudroom. He screamed in pain.

Holding onto his collar with one hand, Peter took his right fist and punched the bastard on his jaw. Peter grabbed Warren's hair and pulled his head back. "How dare you walk in here—how dare you show your face here after everything you put my family through!?"

"Look, I don't know you—"

"I'm Lou's husband!"

"Ex…you're her ex," he said, mocking Peter, a wry laugh coming out of his mouth.

"You don't know me, you don't know her. I'm the father of her children, do you understand? You can't label us. You're nothing but a scumbag who never has, and never will have a place in her heart."

"Oh, and you're any better yourself?"

Rage fueled inside Peter. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You never loved her. I know…because if you did, you never would've let her go. Just like I never let her go, never will…Lou is _mine_."

Peter brought his hand back to Warren's collar, jolting him, his head slamming into the frame again. "You keep her name off your dirty tongue. She's not yours, she never will be."

"So what are you saying…is she yours?"

"I'm not saying that!" Peter's voice rose. "She isn't some piece of property that's meant to be owned by someone! She's a mother, a sister, she's someone's daughter…she's her own person, do you understand? Don't you dare make her feel any less."

"I don't need to listen to this crap," Warren said, headed toward the door.

Peter grabbed his collar again, bringing him back to where he was a moment ago. "You ass, you're not getting away with this. I hope you rot in your prison cell. The hell you put her through, that makes you eligible to go to hell yourself. You tried to kill her, and then left her for dead. She was alone, suffering, and near the point of death and that's on you. You _will_ pay for what you did. For every single damn thing."

"I will pay for nothing. You try calling the police…" he said, trailing off. "...I will make sure I destroy your family. Starting with the little one, then that little brat over there…and I can do all that from inside my prison cell," he spat out.

 _He's bluffing_ , thought Peter to himself. But nonetheless, it unnerved him, the way he was talking about his daughters like that. Peter suddenly felt helpless, his heartbeat racing, his breathing jagged. His hold on the man's collars loosened.

"Now get your hands off me before I really do hurt someone," he said. "I can ruin your life in mere seconds," he said, shoving Peter away. Peter stumbled back, defenseless.

Warren backed away and started for the door, but he stopped and called out, "Lou, you wait for my call, okay?"

Peter glared at him, his gaze unflinching as he watched Warren leave the house. When he got in his truck and drove away, Peter still remained at the door. He watched as Warren left the property, making his way onto the road.

Peter stood there, his face in his hand. He was breathing hard, his hands and legs shaking. He turned around, looking to Lou, who looked so small and defeated. And then Georgie, who was standing near her mother, hiding behind her.

He walked over to Lou, seeing the cut on her cheekbone. "Lou…" he said gently, his voice soft.

"Peter, he—"

"What…? What is it?" Peter moved a hand to Lou's cheek, and brushed off the streak of blood coming out of the wound with his thumb. "He cut you," he said, his voice now weak and piercing.

Lou shook her head, bringing Peter's hand down. Looking into his blue eyes, she saw they were troubled and pained. "Peter, he had a gun."

"What!?"

"He pointed it—" Lou broke off, a sob escaping her lips.

"Where? To who?"

"To Georgie—" Lou gasped out, putting a hand to her mouth, trying to muffle her cries.

A chill ran through Peter's spine. He looked over at his daughter, who had her gaze sealed to the floor. "What—?" He said, his voice tearing out from his throat. "And I let him go!?" Peter said, angrily, tearing himself away from Lou. "And you let him!? You let him point a gun to our daughter!?"

Lou moved toward him, putting a hand to Peter's face. "No, no…Peter, listen to me. He took her from me, he tore her away from me. I didn't—I would never let him."

Peter closed his eyes shut, sighing. "That bastard, that low-life—that's it. I'm going after him. Never should've let him go in the first place!" Peter started for the door.

"No! Dad—" Georgie screamed, finally breaking her silence. She rushed over to Peter, hugging him tight. "Dad, please, you heard mom…he has a gun. And he won't hesitate in using it. He'll hurt you…" her voice was ghastly.

"Sweetheart, I need to get to him before he gets too far," Peter said, trying to free himself.

Georgie held on tighter. "No, you can't do this. Just let it go."

 _Let it go?_ How could he let this go? Anything could've happened to his kid. "Honey—"

Georgie moved back, putting her hand to his wrist. "Dad, please. I'm begging you here."

Peter sighed, putting a hand to her head. She was right. It wasn't safe to go after him.

Georgie removed her hand from Peter's wrist, and Lou immediately noticed the trace of blood that appeared on his blue shirt. "Is that blood—?"

Peter looked to where Lou was pointing, and immediately realizing, he looked to Georgie's hand. He held onto her hand, bringing it wrist side up. "What happened?"

Lou walked over in a daze. She was shaking as she made her way over. "What is this? How did it happen?" She asked, even though she had a pretty good idea.

"The glass shard from the vase dug into my palm when I—when he was…there…when he had you cornered…" Georgie let out, gesturing to the counter.

Lou looked down, embarrassed, torn and angry. She was ashamed at herself. Georgie had gotten hurt because of her. "It must be hurting…" Lou said, pained. She reached out to Georgie. "Why don't you let me fix it up…?"

Georgie backed away from Lou's touch. "No, I'll—I'll do it myself…"

Lou's hand retreated. She was now even more upset. Her eyes were tearing up, and her throat went tight. She brought her hand to the back of her head, agitated.

Peter could feel the tension between them. "Honey, I'll help you. Let me go grab the first aid kit, okay?"

Georgie nodded, and Peter headed toward the mud room. He brought the kit back, and the father and daughter sat at the table together.

Lou stood there, conflicted. She wanted to rush over and take over what Peter was doing, say sorry to Georgie, comfort her, and be there for her, but…Georgie didn't want her anywhere near her. Once again on the verge of tears, Lou blew out her breath, blinking hard and fast.

Lou walked over to the table where Peter and Georgie sat, and she went to pick up her computer, her hands shaking uncontrollably as she closed the lid. Picking up the laptop, she walked over and put it on the desk.

Walking back, she began to clean up the broken plate and the broken vase. Minutes later, when she was done, she stopped in front of Georgie and Peter. Lou saw Peter was done bandaging Georgie's hand.

The mother looked to her daughter. Georgie was staring down at the table, her gaze unfocused. "Sweetheart?" Lou said, her voice breaking.

Without looking up, Georgie let out, "Hmm?"

Lou felt drained and exhausted. She was dizzy, the back of her head throbbing intensely. She walked over to Georgie, and put a hand to her head, caressing her hair. Putting an arm around her shoulder, Lou leaned down and planted a kiss on the top of her head. Bringing her other arm around her, she said, "Baby, I'm sorry…I'm so sorry."

Georgie turned to Lou, burying her face in her mother's shoulder. A sob escaped her lips. The dry racking sobs shook her body. Georgie felt hot tears racing down her cheeks. "Mom…" she let out, through her tears.

Lou wrapped her arms around Georgie tighter, planting another kiss on the top of her head. "I'm sorry, honey…I'm so, so sorry…"

Peter watched them hold onto each other. He watched his baby girl cry and let out her grief and sorrow. His own sorrow and fear fueled inside him as anger at the fact that he could've lost her today, and he was completely helpless, completely unreachable. And his wife…no, his ex-wife, he was reminded by Bennett's taunts…tried her best to shelter their daughter, and let her know she was safe and loved, and that she was out of harm's way.

Peter felt the despair of this situation hard and painful to bear. It was one of those times where he felt nothing would ever be better, that they would never find happiness and that his family would never be out of danger. The guilt tore at his heart, knowing well enough that all of this was happening because of his selfishness and carelessness toward his beautiful family. Peter put his head down, hiding his tears, hiding his pain.

The three of them stayed that way, frozen in their little bubble for the next little while. The sounds of Georgie's sobbing echoed through the house, a painful reminder to her parents of what had happened, what could have happened, and what still remained to happen if they didn't tread carefully in these dangerous waters.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hey y'all, thanks for all your kind words. I'm really glad you guys liked the previous chapter, makes me feel accomplished :D Your reviews are what keep me going, honestly. Enjoy this chapter! xoxo**

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Georgie sat alone on the front steps. Her hands were numb from the cold, and she was shivering. She had needed a break from inside, where all of that with Warren and her parents had just happened. Plus, her parents were inside right now with Amy and Ty and Tim and Jack, informing them of what had happened…and she did not want everyone's eyes on her while they learned of that afternoon's events.

Georgie sat sullenly, engulfed in the still silence of the afternoon. She was shaken and trembling, but more than that, she thought, maybe she was angry and fearful. But the truth was, she was feeling so many things at once, it almost felt like an overload…and she couldn't figure out what she was really feeling.

A couple minutes later, she heard the front door open and close, and by the way the person was walking—lightly and gently—she could tell it was her mother.

Lou came ahead and brought a jacket around Georgie's shoulders. "Here, put this on. I don't want you getting sick."

Georgie looked back. Lou had put her purple winter jacket around her shoulders. Georgie slipped it on, bringing it tight around herself.

When Lou saw Georgie was done putting on the jacket, she came ahead and held out her left hand for Georgie to grab onto. When Georgie reached out, Lou put her other hand lightly to Georgie's shoulder to help herself sit on the steps beside her daughter.

Once seated, Lou looked over at Georgie. Her gaze was sealed to the ground, and she looked agitated. "Honey…are you alright?"

Georgie straightened a little, shrugging her shoulders.

Lou sighed. "I'm really sorry…I'm sorry for putting you in danger, for putting you through all this…"

"What? None of this is your fault."

"Yes, it is—"

"No, stop that…you need to believe it when I tell you that it isn't. You need to accept that. The only reason I'm so quiet—is—well, I don't know…to be honest. But I'm not mad at you or anything like that. I promise."

Lou was taken aback. She had expected Georgie to be nothing but that. "You're not…?"

"No, I'm not mad…not at you, at least."

Lou listened silently. She had a feeling Georgie was about to add on.

"I'm mad at myself…for angering him like that, and because of me, he slammed you into the—the fridge, and then he cut you…" Georgie trailed off, looking down in remorse, her throat tightening.

"Georgie, forget him slamming me into the fridge or—or cutting me. What about what he did to you?"

"I don't care what he did to me," Georgie said, exhaling heavily.

"But your hand—"

"That was my fault," said Georgie, cutting Lou off. "I wasn't careful. I was nervous and shaking; I was bound to cut myself."

"Fine, that was an accident. But what about when he—"

"Nothing happened. It's no big deal," said Georgie, looking out into the distance, stealing away from Lou's gaze.

Lou quieted, unnerved by the mere thought of the gun to Georgie's head. She exhaled heavily, silently giving her thanks that nothing happened.

After a moment of silence from them both, Lou said, "Look, honey…I don't know what's going to happen in the future…if he'll be back or not, if he still poses a threat or not…but I need you to promise me that you won't do what you did today."

"I know…after I hit him, the entire situation was out of our control. He kept hurting you, and I couldn't do anything to stop him. I'm sorry…I just wasn't thinking."

"No, just…don't get in the way to protect me, ever again…because he will hurt you to get to me. He knows that I'll do whatever he says if you're threatened…He wants to control me, and he knows that the only way to do that is to hurt my family, those I love the most."

Her mother's words stuck with her. It was right then when Georgie realized she could do more than try and protect Lou; she could completely and entirely direct his attention away from her mother and onto herself. She had a lot of power in her hands, being Lou's child. If Georgie chose to use and harness her position properly, she could keep her mother out of harm's way.

"Did you hear what I said?" Lou asked, when she noticed Georgie had gotten lost in thought.

Georgie nodded. Looking to Lou, she said, "Yeah." Georgie grabbed Lou's arm and rested her head gently on her mom's shoulder. "I heard you."

* * *

Peter sat at the edge of the bed in Amy's old room. He was shaken and angry. He felt so violated at the fact that this man had come into his home and hurt his family in his absence. This was in fact the first time he'd seen it firsthand, so what of all the other times that he hadn't even been in the city? What sorts of things had he done then that Peter hadn't been able to stop him from doing?

The fact that Georgie could've been shot, just the mere thought of this unnerving possibility, shook Peter to his core. If Bennett had decided to pull the trigger, it would've all been over, in mere seconds.

 _I can ruin your life in mere seconds._

Peter shuddered. He blew out his breath, not being able to shake off the feeling of anxiety that Bennett's words brought him.

There was a knock at the door. He turned, and it was Tim.

Peter cleared his throat. "Tim."

"You mind if I come in?"

"No, of course not," said Peter, standing up. "What's up?"

Tim walked in. "Well…I wanted to thank you for the way you stood up for Lou today. The way you protected her and Georgie. And I know that thanking you is a bit strange, since this is your family as well, but…you know, I try."

Peter chuckled, smiling. "Thanks Tim," he said, breathing out. "I really appreciate it."

"Look, I know how hard this is for you. I get it. I'm going through it too…and maybe now isn't the best time, but—" Tim broke off, unsure of how to go on.

"What is it?"

"Well, I've been watching you and Lou these past few weeks…the way you two have built a united front and how you're spending time with the kids. How you're spending time with each other…and I'm beginning to think that—that maybe there's still hope."

Peter's lips parted. He was shocked, taken aback. "You mean for—"

"For you and Lou to patch things up."

Peter exhaled. "You have no idea how good it feels to hear you say that. I—I guess I feel that way as well…and I've been wanting to say something to her for so long. But it just never seemed like the right time. And I don't know how Lou feels about this either, and I don't want to say anything and ruin what we have."

"I can talk to her for you, if that would make it a little easier."

"I appreciate it, Tim…but I really think that this is something that I should do on my own. But…do you think that I should even do it? That I'm not making a mistake in thinking it'll work?"

"Well, I know that along the way, you two fell apart…but you always treated her right. You never wronged her. You tried to take care of her, you tried to do what any good man would do for his family. I know you love her, and she loves you. It isn't a mistake to think that it could work."

Bennett's words rung in Peter's ears.

 _You never loved her. Because if you did, you never would've let her go._

"And the kids…just think of how happy they'll be to hear their parents are back together."

Peter broke out of his reverie, his face breaking into a smile. "Yeah, you have a point. So I take it I have your blessing to talk to Lou about this?"

Tim smiled. "Yeah, you do," he said, putting a hand to Peter's shoulder.

* * *

The next morning, Lou headed upstairs to Georgie's room to check up on her before school. She knocked, but there was no answer. Surely Georgie was awake by now, right? "Georgie? Sweetheart?" Lou said, cautiously opening the door to her daughter's room.

When Lou swung the door open, she was surprised, as well as concerned. Georgie was still under the covers, and this was completely out of character for her. It was late, almost time to get ready for school. Walking over to her, Lou said, "Honey, what's wrong...?"

"Nothing, I'll be up in a bit."

Georgie's voice was faint, and there was a wavering flutter in it. Being a mother, Lou picked up on it instantly. "No, something's wrong." She reached for Georgie's forehead and placed her fingers on it, checking for a temperature. "Sweetheart..." Lou breathed out. "Oh my god, you're burning up."

"No, I've just been under these covers all night."

"No, you have a fever. This is because you went out yesterday without your coat on." Lou scolded her gently. "You're not going to school today. I'm going to go get you something. You stay in bed," she said, starting for the door.

"Mom, wait," said Georgie, sitting up.

Lou stopped, her voice tense. "Yeah?"

"Can you come here for a minute?"

Lou walked over and sat beside Georgie. "What is it?"

Georgie moved ahead, holding herself against Lou.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Lou was unsure of how to comfort her daughter, unsure of how to approach this situation. "Honey, you're kind of scaring me. What is it?"

"It's nothing. I just want to know you're here with me." Georgie hugged Lou tighter. "I'm just afraid…"

"I know, honey…but you're out of danger. You're fine, I promise."

"No, I don't care about myself. I'm just scared of—of losing you."

"Honey…"

"And I can't..." Georgie's voice was quiet. Georgie moved back and out of the hug. "Mom, look at me…" she said, bringing her bandaged hand over to Lou's cheek and turned her to face her. "Are you alright…? I mean, I know he slammed you pretty hard…"

"Yeah, I am. I was a little dizzy yesterday, but it's all good now."

Georgie nodded. "Okay…" she trailed off, her gaze floating over to Lou's cut. Not being able to look at it, Georgie stole her gaze down.

"Hey…look at me. I'm fine, alright? You don't need to worry about me because I can take this."

"That doesn't mean you should! I hate seeing you like this!" Georgie's voice was angry, but she was upset moreso. "It drives me crazy."

"Honey, it's _okay_. It's just a cut—"

"Yeah, and what about the last time? You were bleeding out on his floor where he left you to die, like you were _nothing_ , like your life meant nothing. How dare he?" Georgie said, bringing her hands up to Lou's face. _"How dare he?"_ Planting a kiss on Lou's forehead, she said, "I'm never letting him hurt you again. Ever."

Lou hugged Georgie, grabbing onto her like her life depended on it. Lou felt like the worst mother in the world. Her daughter was in a terrible mindspace...she was scared, worried, and worn out.

She was talking in a way Lou had never seen before, and there was this look of anger in her eye, like she was about to…well, Lou didn't know. She had no idea what Georgie was thinking, what was going on inside her young mind. But Lou knew that when Georgie was angry or upset, she didn't think. Lou just hoped that Georgie wouldn't end up doing anything that would put her in harm's way.

* * *

Ty entered the house. He had heard Georgie wasn't feeling too well, and he wanted to go see if she was alright. He saw her seated on the sofa in the living room, wrapped in a blanket. He walked over. "Hey, Georgie...where are Lou and Peter?"

"Lou's helping Katie get ready, and Peter's still asleep."

"Oh, okay. Hey, are you feeling okay?" He said, coming to sit in the sofa chair in front of her.

Georgie shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I feel fine. Lou's just worrying—again."

Ty laughed a little. "Yeah…look, I was headed into work, but I wanted to check up on you first. I know that you're probably really unhinged by what happened yesterday…"

Georgie nodded. "Yeah, I am…as much as I hate to admit it."

"Yeah, I get it…but as angry and upset as you're feeling, you need to just shrug it off."

Georgie looked up at that. "Shrug it off? You want me to shrug it off?"

Ty nodded. "Yeah..."

Georgie laughed, with no hint of amusement in her voice. "You can't be serious. Have you seen Lou? Her head's been killing her since yesterday, and there's that cut on her face, and—and did you not see her at the hospital all those weeks ago? How weak she was? How injured?"

Ty nodded. "Yeah, I know. And I also know how crazy it can make you seeing a parent hurt like that. I know how you feel."

"Ty..."

"Look. You can't put it on yourself to protect your mom. You're only sixteen, and it isn't your job or responsibility. If you were to get yourself involved, anything could happen to you."

"Who told you I give a damn what happens to me?"

Ty was shocked. "Georgie!" He scolded. "That's exactly what you need to do. You need to give a damn about yourself. Do you have any idea what'll happen to Lou if you're taken away? If something happens to you?"

Georgie sighed. "If something happens to me, then you and Amy and Tim and Jack will be there for her. She'll be fine."

"Without you?"

"Without me."

Ty sighed. "You're being crazy right now. You have that same look in your eye I know I had when I was your age. You—you can't be angry, you can't put it on yourself to protect your mother...you're a child. You're Lou's child. And she wouldn't want you to put your life in danger for her."

Georgie looked at him. "Nothing's going to happen to me. You can chill out."

Ty sighed heavily. "And if it does? If something were to happen to you, Lou would never forgive herself. Her life would fall apart…do you want that kind of life for your mother?"

Georgie silenced. She looked down and away, stubbornly folding her arms across her chest.

"Do you have any idea what you put her through when you ran away to Vancouver?"

"I know...I really scared her."

"She was beyond scared. She was in a trance, barely able to think about anything else, unable to do anything besides trying to figure out where you were. She refused to eat, she refused to sleep…she was up all night, out in the city…"

"What? Where was she?"

"She was driving through the streets, trying to track you down."

"Oh. I didn't know that…" Georgie let out, feeling guilty.

"So do you get what I'm saying? If something were to happen to you, Lou wouldn't make it either."

Georgie exhaled heavily. "Well, I'm not her blood. I was never a part of her the way Katie was, okay? Katie is all she really needs, and I'm not even that important—"

"Georgie, it doesn't matter how you came into her life, alright? She loves you the same as she loves your sister. I know. I saw her pain, her desperation when she found out you were missing. And that's only the way a mother—who loves her child with everything she has—would react."

"Okay, fine. I just—"

"Doubting a parent's love is the worst thing you can do. I know because I did it, so many times..." Ty trailed off, a pained look in his eye. "My mom loved me so much, and when she wasn't able to protect me...it made me angry. Angry at her…I figured she just didn't love me enough, that she just didn't care about me. That's one of my biggest regrets, Georgie. And that's saying a lot, seeing as I've made plenty of mistakes."

"Look, I get what you're saying. I do…but I love her so much…and I can't stand by and watch her fall. I can't lose her, okay? That's the one thing I can't do."

"Okay, yeah. I agree with you. And if there's some sort of danger...you tell me. You call me, or your dad, or Tim or Jack…You call us for help, and we will get her out of it. Not you. Do you understand?"

Georgie swallowed. Nodding, she said, "Yeah."

"Promise me you won't do anything stupid."

"I promise."

* * *

 **A/N: Lol it's me again. So...just wanted to address a few things. I'm glad you noticed the little details! Warren is definitely a little crazy; I'm glad you picked up on that. And I can't believe how much I wrote either! Honestly, once I started, I couldn't stop typing away. On another note, this chapter is meant to show us what sort of mindset Georgie is in, it's meant to explain her motivations. And this story better have a happy ending...I'm going to be so ticked at myself if it doesn't.**


	19. Chapter 19

**BOO! I scared y'all, didn't I? ;) Thanks for all the reviews and for sticking with me. I've been busy lately with school, and I know that sounds like such a lame excuse, but I just cannot find the time. I'm doing my best though! Enjoy this xoxo**

* * *

Lou sat in a chair in her room, watching over Georgie. She had fallen asleep on the couch out in the living room, and Lou had hesitantly woken her up and brought her inside where she thought her daughter would be in comfort.

Lou had then sat with Georgie until she fell asleep, but even when that happened, Lou didn't leave. She just couldn't. The mother sat in silence, her heart continually breaking, an unexplained fear creeping into her heart.

Lou stood from her chair and walked over to her daughter. She sat at Georgie's beside and she checked for a temperature. She was still fairly warm, despite the fact Lou had given Georgie her medicine and fluids…none of that had helped yet. This troubled Lou, upsetting her. "Honey, just get better, please…" she pleaded to Georgie, who was unresponsive in her slumber.

Lou knew perfectly well that the chilly weather had most likely not played a role in getting her daughter sick. She knew it was probably the stress from yesterday that had caused it. Lou's own left arm had been aching intensely since last night, and it just wouldn't go away. The only reason Lou had scolded her for not wearing a jacket outside was because she didn't want to frighten Georgie, telling her she'd fallen sick because of the trauma of yesterday's events.

Thinking back to yesterday, Lou remembered the sheer _terror_ she had felt when she'd seen his gun against her daughter's forehead, how afraid and on the edge she had felt. It could've been over in seconds. Unhinged and bothered by the image in her mind, Lou brought her hand and stroked Georgie's forehead right where the gun had been, as if to erase any trace of it ever being there, from her own mind. Lou thought that if he had been angrier, or maybe feeling more merciless, he could have—probably would have—pulled the trigger.

And Georgie would've—

Lou stopped herself.

 _No._ No, she just couldn't go there.

Lou shut her eyes tight, a shudder going through her skull. Lou's eye caught Georgie's bandaged hand. There was blood seeping through the white strips of cloth, and just seeing that, knowing how the glass must have dug into her palm—

Thinking back, Lou now realized why Georgie had dropped the vase. It must've been too hard to hold onto, with her hand like that. Seeing Georgie's hand like this, knowing it had happened because of her…just the sight of it made Lou's heart crawl into her throat.

Georgie had been so quiet the whole time he was there. She had silently suffered the injury to her hand, she quietly suffered through him shoving her into the desk in the kitchen, and she would have quietly taken the bullet too…

Lou looked over at her daughter, who she still thought of as the eleven year old that had arrived at their doorstep all those years ago. She was still so young and innocent. She was vulnerable in so many ways, and she needed to be protected, from anything and everything.

And Lou had failed to do just that.

It was Georgie that had protected her, fiercely and without hesitation. Just that morning too, she had vowed to never let Bennett hurt her mother again. The fierce and absolute anger she'd seen in Georgie's eyes scared her. It planted a fear in her heart that she couldn't get rid of, no matter how hard she tried.

Lou leaned down and planted a kiss on Georgie's temple, and she stroked her hair lovingly and longingly. Lou loved both Katie and Georgie with all her heart, and she just didn't know what good thing she had done in her life to deserve such amazing children. These two were her lifelines. Her _lifelines_ , and she couldn't do without them.

Planting another kiss on her daughter's temple, Lou straightened. Continuing to stroke her daughter's hair, she said, "I love you, honey… _I love you_ …" Lou trailed off, beginning to cry. " _I love you so much…_ "

 _"If anything were to happen to you, what would I do…? How would I go on? My life would be just…incomplete without you… just so pointless. My—my heart…"_ Lou trailed off, her voice faltering. _"...it's—it's trembling at the mere thought of losing you…and I can't. I can't, sweetheart…so keep yourself out of harm's way. Please protect yourself. Please."_

Lou's throat went tight, and she was on the verge of a full out breakdown. She slapped a hand to her mouth, and quickly made her way out of her room, and into the kitchen to make sure Georgie wouldn't wake up and see her like that.

Lou cried heavily, her tears flowing steadily. She was terrified, worried and worn-out, exhausted and afraid of the future. Afraid for her children's well-being, their safety.

A couple of minutes later, Amy made her way into the house and was immediately made aware of Lou standing over the sink, crying. She was alarmed, suddenly thinking of the worst. She walked over in a rush. "Lou, what is it? What's the matter?"

Lou's shoulders were shaking, her hold on the sink weakening until one of her hands slipped from where they were perched. She brought her hand up to her mouth, muffling her cries.

"Lou, please just say something. Is everything okay?"

"How is everything okay, Amy…?"

Amy sighed, just a little relieved. Lou's tone indicated that nothing had happened. "Come here," she said, coming ahead and wrapping her arms around Lou's shoulders. The way that Lou shook and trembled made Amy fear her sister would just fall apart at some point, sooner rather than later, with no point of return. Amy tightened her hold on her sister, hoping to put all her broken pieces back together.

* * *

Soon after, Peter arrived from dropping Katie off at school. He made his way to Lou's room, determined to talk with her. He walked ahead, appearing in the door frame.

Lou immediately looked up from her book. "Hey. You're back."

"Yup. Dropped Katie off at kindergarten. She seems to love it," Peter said, thrilled to be part of Katie's school routine. Her teacher had met with him excitedly, saying how much Katie loved talking about him in school, and how well she was doing, and that she got along so well with the other kids.

Lou smiled, saying, "That's good."

"Yeah," Peter said, rubbing his hands together. "So, how's Georgie?"

"She still has a temperature. I just—I'm hoping it goes away soon. We're doing everything on our part."

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll be fine."

Lou tightened her jaw, setting it back. She sighed. "Yeah, I hope so."

Peter walked ahead. "Hey, Lou…can we talk?"

Lou looked at him, standing up. "Yeah, what is it? Everything alright?"

"Everything's fine. I just…I wanted to talk to you about some things."

"Oh, well, so did I, actually."

"Okay, you first."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, absolutely," Peter said, suddenly nervous and hesitant to say what was really on his mind.

"Okay," she said. "Well, you and I both know that Georgie is really bent out of shape about all of this."

"Yeah."

"And I'm pretty sure this fever happened because of yesterday's trauma, and I just think that maybe Georgie being here, with _me_ …isn't the best thing for her. I was thinking that maybe for the holidays, you could take Georgie and Katie to Vancouver with you. I mean, you wanted them there before, right?"

Peter was taken aback, flustered. It seemed Lou didn't want him around. Not that this was about him, but if they were going to get back together, how would this distance make any of that work? Peter put a hand to the back of his head, smoothing out his hair. "Lou, are you sure about this…?"

"Yeah, I am. And it's not just that they need a change…I'm—I'm worried about what he said yesterday. He _threatened_ them, Peter. He threatened our daughters, and I can't—I'm not just going to stand by and let him destroy everything that you and I—"

"Woah, woah, woah—Lou, let's not—" he broke off, walking ahead. Putting a gentle hand to her arm, he said, "Let's not go there. They're going to be just fine, and we're going to be...just _so happy_ …"

Lou looked up, her eyes vacant, deprived of soul, searching his for just that. "We?"

Peter laughed nervously. The cat was out of the bag now. "Yes. We will be. And if you think that Vancouver is the way to go, to keep our children safe, then I say let's do it. I'll take them there with me, I'll spend time with them, I'll care for them, I'll keep them busy over the break, and—and then when all of this is over, I'll bring them back home, safe and sound."

Lou looked up at him, trying to hold back her tears. "Thank you, Peter…thank you so much…" she cried thankfully.

Peter smiled, putting a hand to her hair, kissing her forehead.

When Peter moved back, Lou couldn't contain herself anymore. She threw her arms around Peter's neck, holding him close. "Thank you so, so much."


	20. Chapter 20

**That was quick, wasn't it? ;) Thanks for the reviews! I will try my best to update frequently. This story means so much to me, and so do my readers. You guys are the best!**

* * *

"Peter!" Tim called out, accelerating his pace so he could make it to Lou and Peter's truck at the same time as the younger man. "Peter, have you spoken to Lou yet?"

Peter stopped at the car door, a hand resting on the door handle. "Uh…not exactly, no…not yet."

"What? Why not?" Tim said in a pressed tone.

"Well, I was going to. Honestly. But then she brought up something else, and it just didn't feel right to start up _that_ conversation at that time."

"So what did you talk about?"

Peter inhaled. "Well, Lou says she wants me to take the girls to Vancouver."

Tim was taken aback. "What? For how long?"

"I'm not too sure, honestly. So far, we've agreed on just the holidays, but it could be more than that."

Tim gave him a questioning look. "And you agreed? Just like that."

"No, it's…she's worried about them. Bennett, he…well, he threatened our girls. We're just looking after their safety. Hopefully things get resolved with him while the girls are in Vancouver with me."

Tim nodded, understanding. "Right, right…okay, well then…you make sure that you tell her of your intentions to get back together _before_ you take your daughters to Vancouver."

"Yeah—yeah…"

"I mean it, Peter. Don't back down, not now. Fight for her, okay? Don't make the same mistakes I made, because I'm telling you, you will have regrets."

"I know the feeling. And—yeah, I'll talk to her."

"It makes me happy to think that maybe once this whole mess is resolved, you will bring the girls back here, and you and Lou will have the rest of your lives to look forward to."

Peter smiled at the prospect. "Me too, Tim."

* * *

It was nearing eight p.m. when Lou walked into her room, carrying a glass of juice in for her daughter, who was laying in bed, covered in a blanket up to her elbows. "Hey, sweetie, I brought you something to drink."

"Mom, that's like the fifth glass in the past three hours…I'll drink it later."

Lou smiled and set the glass down on the dresser. "Okay," she said, sitting down at Georgie's bedside, placing a hand to the young girl's forehead. "You're still a little warm…better than before though…" Lou breathed out, thankful.

"I'm fine," said Georgie. "I was thinking I would go to school tomorrow—"

"Not if you're not feeling well."

"Well, I need to go hand in my assignment."

Lou put a lock of Georgie's hair behind her ears. "I can go give it in for you."

"What? No—"

"Or your dad."

"Well, I can go give it myself. I'm _fine_ ," Georgie pressed.

Lou sighed. "Is your hand alright?"

"Yeah, it feels fine."

"It's not still hurting?"

Georgie looked up to the sound of Lou's voice. There was a hint of agony, a piercing tone in her mother's voice. "I've been hurt worse than this. Why are you still so hung up on this?"

Lou exhaled, putting a hand to her own forehead. "I just…it's—it's nothing. As long as you're sure."

"You've been acting weird all day. What's—is something wrong?"

Lou looked at her, a pained look in her eye. "Nothing's wrong," said Lou, placing a hand on Georgie's face. "I just want you better."

There was a knock on Lou's door, and as she turned, Peter poked his head in. "Hey, I thought I'd say goodnight." Walking into the room. Peter came to sit in the chair beside Lou's bed. Looking to Georgie, he placed a hand to her forehead. "You seem like you're feeling a lot better. See, Lou, what'd I tell you?"

Lou looked at him, slightly amused and slightly annoyed at his tone. But the familiarity of his actions was comforting. She smacked his arm lightly. "What are you talking about? I knew she'd get better."

Peter laughed, his dimples showing. "Oh, yeah? Then what was that this morning? You stormed into my room, crazed, _demanding_ I wake up and drive Katie to school because you were looking after Georgie. You reminded me of those prison wardens from the movies."

Lou's lips parted, her eyes twinkling in amusement. "No, you know what—" she broke off, a smirk at her lips.

"Yeah? What?" Peter mocked her, folding his arms together.

Lou hit his shoulder, harder this time. "You just be quiet, do you hear me?"

Peter burst out in laughter, his eyes tearing up because of it. "Okay, yes ma'am," he said, putting his arms up in surrender, trying his best to find his composure.

Peter's crazy laughter was contagious, and it had an effect on Lou and Georgie as well. Georgie giggled, while a laugh escaped from between Lou's pursed lips, who didn't want to admit that Peter's joke was even a little bit funny. Thinking back to that morning, she remembered that she had startled Peter awake. The look on his face had been priceless. Lou put a hand to her lips, suppressing her laughter.

When Peter finally settled, which took a while, he looked to his daughter, who had a glint in her eyes. She looked happy, delighted at seeing her parents interact so casually, so _normally_. "Okay, I'm going to turn in. I just wanted to make sure I saw you before I went to sleep."

Peter stood, planting a kiss on Georgie's temple and stroking her hair gently. "Goodnight, honey."

"Night, Dad."

When Peter left the room, Lou turned to Georgie, her brow wrinkled in amusement, but she feigned annoyance. "Your father is crazy."

Georgie giggled, extremely happy to see her parents like this again. She felt almost as if she were dreaming this, that she would wake up soon. If that was the case, and Georgie really was dreaming, she didn't want to ever wake up.

* * *

In the morning, Georgie was feeling better, much to Lou's relief. She kept silently giving her thanks, incredibly happy that her daughter was feeling better. Now, Lou could set that worry aside and focus on other things.

Peter had a meeting in Calgary that morning, and so he said he would drop the girls off at school and then head into the city.

As Peter and the girls drove away, Lou admitted to herself that she was a little disappointed that he was gone for the day. She had hoped to talk to him…because she just couldn't get what he had said yesterday out of her mind.

 _We're going to be…just so happy…_

Thinking back to yesterday, Lou had been taken aback by Peter's words, her heartbeat accelerating as he had said them. Could this mean that Peter wanted to…?

 _There's no way._

Did Peter really want to get back together with her? Was that what was really on his mind? Or had he just said that in a way to mean that their daughters would be safe and happy, and that _that_ would then mean happiness for both Lou and Peter as parents…?

Lou didn't want to get her hopes up, because maybe she was just reading too much into everything, taking the wrong meaning of his words.

Lou was sitting at the round table, a cup of coffee in hand, when Amy came into the house.

"Morning, Lou."

"Amy, hey…" Lou smiled to her sister.

Amy came and sat down across from Lou at the table. "You seem better than yesterday."

Lou laughed, a little embarrassed. "I was a mess yesterday…but now that Georgie's feeling better, so am I."

Amy smiled. "That's great, Lou. I knew she'd be fine."

"Yeah. Thank you for sitting with me yesterday, and giving me that reassurance. I really appreciate it."

Amy reached for Lou's hand. "You're my sister. I'd do anything for you. That's nothing to thank me for, though."

"Still, it really helped, and it put me in a better mind space."

Amy nodded. "Yeah. From what you described, it must've been quite the scene when he had come in."

"Yeah, it was. I'm just so…guilt-ridden and ashamed that Georgie saw and heard all that he did to me. No child should have to bear that burden."

Amy nodded, looking down a little.

"But, that wasn't even the worst of it. I'm just…I'm thankful that he didn't go as far as—" she broke off, unable to say it. She exhaled heavily.

Amy nodded again, giving Lou's hand a squeeze. "I know."

"Amy, I'm really afraid," Lou admitted. "I'm afraid of what he'll do…I have no idea what he's thinking, what he's planning, and that terrifies me…He's threatening our very chance at happiness, when it was so hard to find in the first place." Lou sighed, saying, "But I won't let him. I can't…and that's why I've decided to send Georgie and Katie to Vancouver."

"To Vancouver? What—when would they be going?"

"Soon. Maybe Friday."

"That's—that's really soon."

"It is, but I can't risk anything happening to them."

"But Lou, Vancouver? That's so far away. How will they get along without you? They need you."

"What they need is to be safe, Amy. I'm their mother, I know how much it hurts to separate them from myself, but I have to do it in order to keep them safe."

Amy looked at her sister, sighing. "Well, have you told them yet?"

"No, not yet. I will soon."

Amy nodded, wondering how that would eventually play out. "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm positive. After what's happened, I don't have a choice."

Amy shuddered inwardly, thinking back to the picture that Lou had described. Georgie had been so close to—

"I'm just waiting for all of this to be over…"

Amy's head went up, her daydream shattering like glass. She was thankful for the distraction. "It'll be over before you know it, alright?" Amy stood, coming around to hug her sister.

Lou leaned in to Amy's hug, shutting her eyes tight.

Amy wrapped her arms tighter around Lou. "Before you know it."


	21. Chapter 21

**Someone stop me. I keep uploading. To Guest reviewer: I'm glad you pick up on little details. Good on you ;) I think that's so awesome and it shows you're a very attentive reader. I hope you guys like this chapter as well. Enjoy xoxo**

* * *

"Lou, where are you—you're not going to work, are you?"

"No, I'm not. I have a doctor's appointment in town."

"Oh. Well, doesn't Peter usually take you? Where is he?"

"Yeah, well, he's in the city today. He had an important meeting to attend. I told him I'd just go myself," Lou shrugged.

"What? No, you can't just go on your own."

"Amy, I am perfectly capable of driving into town and back."

"Ask dad or grandpa to take you in."

"Dad's busy at the school, and I really don't want to disturb grandpa. I'm going to have to go myself."

Amy watched her sister as she moved to sit on the bench in the mud room. As Lou was putting on her boots, Amy considered offering to take Lou to the hospital. But she couldn't bring herself to. She was afraid of going in to the appointment, and hearing the doctor discuss her sister's condition with alien terms and phrases. She didn't want to learn any more of what Lou was going through. She didn't want to hear Lou talk about how difficult it was for her to move around, to talk about her pain and her injuries.

How childish was she being? Why couldn't she just offer to go with Lou?

It was the fact that this was all so new to her. She'd never seen Lou like this, so weak and vulnerable. It scared her, seeing her big sister like that. She had always been the one to take care of everyone else, and Amy had always looked to her when she needed support. Lou always took care of everyone else.

"Amy?"

Amy snapped out of her reverie. "Hmm?"

"Can you pass me my purse?" Lou said, gesturing to the round table.

Amy looked behind her, and went to grab the bag. She sighed to herself. Was she really about to let Lou drive to the hospital on her own? Couldn't she just muster up the courage to go into the building with her sister? Amy was just so bothered and unhinged by this whole thing. Even now, when Lou was getting better, she still wasn't completely out of the woods. If she went, Amy feared what sorts of things she would find out. She wasn't sure if she was ready to see this weak side of Lou.

Besides, even if Amy went, how would she be of any help to Lou?

Amy turned back and handed her sister the bag, who slipped it onto her wrist. Lou went to button up her coat, but her hands were full with the heavy bag, and it was difficult to button up the coat on her own, so Amy moved ahead and said, "Here, let me."

As Amy helped Lou with her coat, she thought to herself that she wasn't fifteen years old anymore. She could handle one scary visit to the hospital, right? And it wasn't like she hadn't been there before. In fact, she'd been there so many times when she'd been hurt, or not feeling well, and Lou had always been at her side.

But that was just it. Lou had always been there by her side. Now it was Amy's turn to be there for Lou.

As Amy fixed her sister's coat collar, she said, "I'll come with you to your appointment."

Lou looked at her sister, a smile in her eyes. "Amy, you don't have to come."

"Yes, I do, actually…"

"No, I know you're uncomfortable. Don't force yourself to do this if it scares you."

"You can tell it scares me?" Amy said, horrified.

Lou laughed, her face lighting up. "Of course I can tell, honey," she said. "It's fine, I can go on my own."

"No, I want to do this. I'm not letting you go there by yourself."

Lou smiled. "Okay, if you're sure. Let's get going, I don't want to be late."

* * *

Arriving at the hospital, Amy quickly got out of the truck and made her way over to Lou's side. Amy took her sister's purse, and then helped her get out of the vehicle, guiding a hand to her back. "You alright?"

Lou placed a hand on Amy's arm, steadying herself. "Yeah."

Once Amy locked the truck, and shut the door, the two of them walked into the building. Amy told Lou to go to the waiting area, while she went to reception. Amy went to the desk to ask if they could go in to see Lou's doctor.

"Dr. Keller just headed into an important meeting right now. You're going to have to wait until that's over."

Amy let out a wry laugh, looking down, placing her hands on the counter. "No, you know what? My sister came a long way to be here for her appointment today, that was scheduled over a week ago. It wasn't easy for her to come here today because she's still recovering. We were told to be here by 9:30, and we actually made it in early, so whatever 'important meeting' the doctor is in right now, I'm sure it can wait. I'm not letting my sister wait for however long this meeting is going to be."

The receptionist looked at Amy with a blank expression, which Amy returned with a steady gaze, her jaw clenched tightly. The woman then sighed, reaching for the phone.

Amy waited as the woman spoke to the person on the other end of the line, most likely Dr. Keller.

Once she was done speaking, the woman hung up the phone and said to Amy, "Dr. Keller will be no more than fifteen minutes. Can she wait that long?"

There was a spiteful and threatening tone in the woman's voice, and Amy suddenly felt attacked, and upset on her sister's behalf, an overprotective instinct coming on. Amy set her jaw back in response to the woman's harsh behaviour. She knew now that she had made the right decision in coming with her sister today. Had Amy let her come alone, this is what Lou would've had to deal with.

"We're waiting now, aren't we?" Amy snapped back, adding with a careful smile, "And watch your tone, please." She moved away from the desk and walked over to where Lou was waiting for her.

"What'd they say?" Lou asked, as Amy came and sat beside her sister.

"We can see the doctor in about fifteen minutes," Amy said, offering an encouraging smile to her sister, trying to get the encounter she had just had out of her head. She breathed out, trying to shrug off her anger.

"Oh, okay. That's fine."

Once Amy was settled in her seat, she looked over at Lou, noticing the cut on her face for about the hundredth time in the past two days. "What are you going to say if the doctor asks about your cut…?"

Lou shifted in her chair, uneasy. "I don't know…let's just hope she doesn't ask at all."

Amy sighed. "Yeah. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Maybe I should cover it up with makeup," said Lou, now worried and thinking all sorts of things.

Amy looked at her, bewildered. "You'd know how to cover it up properly?"

Lou simply nodded.

"Oh my god…Lou, this isn't a bruise that you can just cover up with some powder and it'll all be fine. If you put anything on it, it'll begin to irritate."

"You're right. It was just a dumb idea."

"Look, I'm sorry I brought it up. I really shouldn't have."

Lou shook her head. "No, no, it's just…" she trailed off, leaving her thought unfinished.

After a minute of silence, Amy said, "So…what's happening at the follow-up today?"

Lou shrugged. "I guess she'll ask me how I've been doing, if my pain has been manageable. I'll ask her any questions I might have, and she'll probably prescribe me something…" Lou trailed off. "Oh, and they're doing a CT scan on me."

Amy turned, looking at her sister. "What?"

Lou looked back at her. "Amy, relax. I've done this before."

Amy exhaled. "You were about to come here on your own, and go through all of that yourself? What—what is the matter with you?"

Lou was confused. "Amy, hold on—"

"Why—why do you do this? You keep every single damn thing to yourself. Do you think you can just get through it all on your own? Do you not need us?"

"Amy, it just slipped my mind."

"Oh, it slipped your mind, did it?"

"Yes!" Lou defended.

Amy turned her head away from Lou a little, hiding her upset. Biting her lip, she tried to keep herself together. "Something like that doesn't just slip your mind."

Lou reached for Amy's arm, gently nudging it so her sister would turn to face her. "Amy, look, I'm sorry. I'll be more careful next time. I really didn't mean to hide this from you. My mind was just…somewhere else this morning."

There was no response from Amy.

"Honey, you're overreacting. This isn't a big deal."

Amy let out a tired laugh. "This is the definition of a big deal. CT scans are no joke."

"Look, I said I'm sorry. And I am…Please, don't be mad. There's just so much going on right now."

Amy let out a staggering breath, thinking back to that night suddenly. Lou had said the same thing to her then, and she was saying it again, pleading for her sister's understanding and support. Amy's anger suddenly melted away, and she looked back at Lou and put an arm around her sister's shoulder, planting a kiss on her temple. "I'm not," she said. "I just wish you would tell me things, and not keep everything to yourself."

The two of them sat in silence for the next few minutes, until Lou's doctor arrived. She seemed nice enough, much to Amy's relief. Her sister was in good hands, she thought to herself.

Dr. Keller led the two of them toward the lab where the CT scan would be held.

Amy was told to wait outside, and she complied, taking Lou's bag and coat. When Lou disappeared behind the doors, Amy sighed to herself, feeling restless and uneasy. She rested her back against the wall, and quietly stood there in her little bubble.

Amy took out her phone and texted Ty.

He immediately called back. "Amy, what's going on? Everything alright?"

"Oh—yeah, yeah, everything's fine. I'm sorry, I should've been more clear. I'm just here with Lou for a follow-up…sort of…"

"Sort of?"

"Yeah, she's undergoing a CT scan right now, and they're making me wait outside. They wouldn't even let me in there with her."

"Don't worry, it's a painless procedure. And the reason they don't let you in is because of the radiation in there."

"Radiation?"

"Amy, listen to me. Just relax. Don't worry about it, okay? She'll be out in no time."

Amy exhaled. "I just hate waiting. And I just feel so useless."

"You're not being useless. You're there. That's what counts."

Amy smiled. "Thanks. I needed to hear that…you always know what to say."

"I do, don't I?" There was a smile in Ty's voice, Amy could tell. "Hey, I should get back to work. I think they just brought in a new patient."

"Okay, bye. I love you."

"I love you. Bye, Amy."

Once she hung up the phone, Amy felt better. She now felt like she could power through this little bit of waiting, feeding off of the strength Ty had given her through his consoling words.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I hope this one doesn't disappoint :D Thank you GKB and Guest reviewer (you know who you are;) for your encouraging words.**

* * *

Amy stood in the hallway, her head leaning against the wall. Suddenly, the door to the laboratory opened up, and Dr. Keller emerged, a grim and serious look on her face. "Amy, right?"

Amy walked forward a step, humming a quick yes. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah—" she said, gesturing to the door she had just come through. "We're just prepping for the scan. Well, in truth, I wanted to speak with you in private."

"Me? You wanted to speak with me?" Amy asked, confused.

The doctor nodded. "Yeah, I just had a quick question. I don't mean to pry, but it's my job and responsibility to ask, as Lou's doctor. Does the cut on your sister's cheekbone have anything to do with Peter not being here today?"

Amy's lips parted, and she quickly registered the meaning of Dr. Keller's words. Taken aback, she hurriedly replied, "Oh no, no…they're completely unrelated. Peter meant to be here today, but he actually had to attend a last minute meeting in the city. That's why I'm here with Lou, taking Peter's place. He didn't…he would _never_ hurt her. He'd never."

Dr. Keller nodded. "That's a relief. Well, I guess it's safe to assume that there's still an outside threat looming."

When Amy didn't answer, the doctor continued. "Look, I know it can be hard to speak up sometimes, for so many reasons sometimes…but you must know that I'm here, if you need anything. I can get you in touch with reliable agencies and organizations. We can keep your sister safe. So if there's anything I can do, please let me know."

Amy nodded, gratitude washing over her. "I will, I'll let you know… _thank you so much_."

* * *

When Lou finally emerged from the laboratory, Amy saw right away she seemed a little unhinged, slightly bothered. "Hey…did it go okay?" Amy asked hesitantly, her eyes flitting down when Lou moved a hand to her stomach.

Lou nodded then, but didn't say anything.

"Are _you_ okay?"

"Yeah, I just feel queasy." When Amy gave her a questioning look, Lou continued, "They gave me something to drink beforehand. A contrast, they called it."

"Okay, well, did you want some water then?"

"Sure," Lou said, breathing out. "Let's just get inside first."

Once they arrived in the doctor's office, Amy handed the bottle of water to her sister.

As they both sat, Lou graciously took the water from Amy, and took a few sips, trying to get rid of the sour taste in her mouth. She felt Amy's worried gaze on her, but before she could say anything, Dr. Keller entered the room. "So, Lou, the last time we were in here…it was about a week ago, correct? How have you been feeling these past few days?"

"I've been okay…"

"But not great," Dr. Keller finished for Lou.

Lou nodded in response.

 _What? Seriously…?_ Lou had seemed fine, just _fine_ …even today. Amy hadn't noticed anything different. What was going on with her—?

"The last time you were in…" Dr. Keller said, opening Lou's file. "...we noted that your vitals were spiking, but besides that, your pain and injuries were manageable. I take it you've been taking your pills regularly?"

Lou felt like she was on the witness stand. "Well, you know…when I need to. When the pain gets really bad, or I begin to feel weak."

"Right, but you should be taking them regularly, seeing as how much you're struggling now with your injuries. You need to take them like you did in the beginning."

Lou nodded. "Will do."

"You do know that before the scan, we found that your vital signs are still a little off." Dr. Keller said.

 _Her vitals are still…a little off? What…? What's going on?_

"You mentioned you haven't been feeling yourself lately. How so?"

"I just…" Lou began, looking over at Amy. "Well, it's nothing new. We discussed it the last time I was here. Sometimes, I'll get these weird headaches, or my heartbeat will become irregular."

"Right. Any chest pain?"

"Sometimes," said Lou, averting her eyes again to Amy, who was looking back at her. She looked hurt, a look of betrayal on her face. Unable to look Amy in the eye, Lou nervously looked back to the doctor.

"Right. Well, it's nothing to fret over. We can definitely take care of that. I'll prescribe you something for that, and…" she said, pulling out a prescription pad. "How has your pain been lately? Specific to your abdominal injuries."

"It's just…it's been getting worse. Especially in the last couple of days. When—when it happens, I'll take the pills, but they don't always help. I don't really know what to do about it, except maybe sleep it off, or try to power through it."

Amy was listening and taking in every word that the two women were exchanging, and she felt worse and worse by the minute. Why hadn't Lou shared anything with her? Maybe it was Amy's fault…she was always so busy with work, she barely had enough time for her sister.

"Sometimes," Dr. Keller began, "It's a matter of the brand. Some work for you, and others don't. I actually have a different one in mind for you, but you must be careful with how much of it you take in. Remember to take it in moderation, no matter how tempted you may be to take more."

Lou's lips parted, her mind flashing back to her father's struggles with painkillers. "Right—I'll…I'll keep that in mind—" Lou broke off, her eyes flitting to Amy again. This time, she was looking straight at Dr. Keller, her lips parted, her brow furrowed. She seemed she was about to say something.

"Alright, so if you had any questions…" Dr. Keller trailed off, looking to Lou, and then to Amy, inviting the both of them to ask of any concerns they might have.

"Yeah, actually…" Amy began. "How long do you think it'll take for a complete recovery?"

"Well, when we started off, we had predicted a recovery time of about almost four months. And if we pick up on the treatment right now, and manage all these symptoms, it shouldn't be much longer than about five months, but again, these are just predictions. For all we know, with proper rest and care, your sister will be better much before that."

Amy nodded. "Thank you so much."

Dr. Keller scribbled out the medicines for Lou, and said she was reachable by her cell if they had anything they wanted to discuss with her, if they had any concerns or if they weren't sure how to handle something. Amy thanked the doctor a couple more times, and then both Amy and Lou headed out. They made a quick stop at the pharmacy in town and picked up the items on the prescription, and they then headed home.

* * *

It was a quiet drive home, and it was a while until Lou spoke up. "Say something, Amy…"

"What do you want me to say…?" Amy asked, her voice gentle. She herself was on the verge of breaking down, her throat felt tight and she felt the tears coming. "Honestly, what do I say to you?"

Lou said nothing.

"How do you think I felt…?" Amy said quietly, "All of a sudden finding out you're dealing with an irregular heartbeat, that you get headaches—" She broke off, upset, trying to maintain a gentle tone, though she felt like blowing up at Lou. "How long has all this been happening?"

There was silence from Lou.

"Since Sunday?"

"No. Before that."

"I was just so completely unaware, because you won't even let me in. You know, I can take worrying about you, it's not going to kill me."

They both quieted, and Amy thought a minute. "Sunday's events took an obvious toll on you."

"Amy—"

"And then Georgie got sick…" Amy looked over. "That made things ten times worse. You know, as of now, you were supposed to be fully recovered in a few months' time. That's already such a long way away, and now your recovery period has been extended, way beyond what had initially been set."

Lou sighed. "Yeah, I know…"

"You need to start taking better care of yourself."

"I'm not exactly being careless. You know that, right? Some things are just out of our control. The way I respond to stressful situations isn't exactly something I decide on."

"I know, but maybe you need to begin taking things easier."

"Easier than I already have been?"

"Yeah," Amy said simply. "You should rest more often, as much as you can."

"Look, I can't just take to lying in bed all day. What am I going to tell Georgie and Katie when they see and ask me what's going on?"

"The truth."

Lou laughed a little. "They're my children, Amy. I can't just dump that burden on them."

"Fine, then when they're in school, get as much rest as you need. Stop pretending you're okay when you're really just falling apart. It's not going to do you any good."

Lou said nothing.

The two of them were silent for a few moments as Amy pulled Jack's truck onto the Heartland property.

"I really should begin taking notes from your daughter."

Lou looked over at the mention of Georgie. "What are you talking about?"

"She's smart, she notices things. The other day, she came up to me and—and she told me there was something up with you. That you were conducting yourself differently, that maybe your head was hurting. And she was right on track, wasn't she?"

"When did she—?"

"The day he came in. It was late at night, once you'd gone to bed." Amy said, stealing a glance at Lou. "You need to start taking care of yourself. If not for us, if not for yourself, then do it for Georgie and Katie. Your kids draw strength from you, and if they see you've fallen weak, where is that going to leave them?"

Amy's words pierced at Lou's heart. She sighed, drained and exhausted.

"Look, I don't want to upset you. That's the last thing I want to do. But you need to listen, and take in what it is that I'm trying to tell you," Amy finished as the truck pulled into the yard. She put it in park, turning off the ignition.

"I hear you, Amy. I do, really…I promise."

Amy glanced over, smiling at Lou. She put a hand on her sister's. "Look, I'm here for you. You're not alone, and…whenever you need something, be it day or night…you ask. You speak up. I'll be there. Just know that I love you so much, okay…?"

Lou looked back at Amy, her eyes watering up. "Oh, Amy, you have no idea," she cried, smiling and laughing through the tears.

Amy came ahead and moved her sister against her, hugging her warmly and lovingly. She planted a kiss on Lou's temple, and said, "I think I have a pretty good idea."


	23. Chapter 23

**Hello lovelies! Sorry for the wait. It would've been longer (hehehh) but I decided I should post what I had. And I am definitely taking in your reviews and encouragement, and all input is appreciated! Next chapter should be quite interesting with the Lou/Georgie/Peter dynamic coming into play.**

* * *

Peter walked out of the building and was immediately embraced by the noise and chaos that was the city of Calgary. He blew out his breath, swinging his bag over his shoulder. He began walking down the street and took out his phone.

Before he could do anything, his phone began to ring. Putting a hand over the device to shade it from the sun, he saw it was Lou calling. A smile made its way onto Peter's lips, his heartbeat accelerating a little.

He pressed answer, and brought the phone to his ear. "Lou, hey. What's up?"

"Nothing really, I just wanted to check in with you. Your meeting's over, right? You're on your way home."

 _Home._

Peter smiled. "Yes, I'm coming home."

"Okay, well, I'll see you soon. I just…well, I wanted to talk to you about what you said yesterday. I feel as if there was more you wanted to say…I know there was more I wanted to say."

"Yeah, yeah, definitely. We'll talk. I want to talk," Peter said, chuckling softly.

There was a smile in Lou's voice. "Okay, I'll be waiting."

"I won't be long," said Peter. "Talk soon. Bye."

"Bye," said Lou.

Once Peter was off the call, he put his phone away and rushed to the SUV.

His heart felt like it would burst out of his chest. He was giddy with excitement and had high hopes. He felt like a teenager all over again, all ready to take his crush to the prom. Except this wasn't the prom. And he wasn't in high school.

He smiled to himself.

 _Today's the day._

* * *

Peter arrived at Heartland, making his way into the kitchen. He saw Amy, who was preparing lunch. He greeted her and then asked for Lou.

"Oh, she's in her room."

"Oh, can I—?" He broke off, gesturing to the bedroom area.

"Oh yeah, of course. She's actually been waiting for you."

Peter's eyes lit up, twinkling at the mention of Lou wanting to see him. He smiled, thanking Amy and heading inside.

Arriving at her room, he knocked. "Lou...? It's me, Peter."

Lou called out, "Yeah, just a minute!"

"Okay."

A minute later, Lou opened the door wide, a hand resting on the door frame. "Hey, you're back."

Peter smiled. "I am. Hey, why—why don't we sit and talk?"

"Yeah, yeah—come on in," Lou ushered Peter inside.

Once seated, Peter began. "So, how did your follow-up go?"

Lou nodded. "It went okay. They did the scan on me."

"Yeah? Did it go okay? I could tell you were really bothered by it the last time."

Lou nodded. "It wasn't as bad as the last. I guess I just needed some getting used to, right? The doctor also prescribed me something. For the pain, for the symptoms I was telling you about…"

Peter nodded, a worried look in his eyes.

"Amy was with me, and I really appreciated her being there because I don't know how I would've done it all alone...but, it wasn't the same. Usually, you're there with me, and I missed you today."

Peter's head went up. He smiled cheekily. "You did, did you?"

"Yes! I did."

He smiled again. "I missed you, too. You know, getting your phone call as I headed out of that meeting...it all felt so familiar, so comforting, so... _us_ , you know?"

Lou smiled. "I know," she said thoughtfully, nodding her head.

"And it just made me think about all the times I'd get those sorts of calls from you, how hearing your voice made me feel so much at home...even though I was in the middle of a loud, traffic-crazed city."

"It reminded me of those times, too."

"And I just kept thinking how much I missed that. How much I wish that we could go back to being like that."

Lou felt a ping in her stomach, beginning to also feel nervous and exhilarated. "Yeah...?"

"Yeah."

"So, what are you saying?" She said, shifting to face Peter's direction more.

"I'm saying that I still love you. I _always_ will. And that I need you, and our daughters."

Lou looked down, clasping her hands together nervously. "The girls need you too. And I—I need you. I really do."

There was a soft glint in Peter's eyes. He looked at her, taking in just how beautiful she was. Always had been. A couple of moments passed before he said, "God, you're beautiful."

Lou looked down, smiling to herself. She laughed softly. "You're not so bad yourself."

Peter laughed, his dimples showing. He parted his lips, suddenly at a loss for words.

Lou watched him. Putting a hand to his wrist, she said, "What…? What is it?"

Peter reached into his coat pocket and pulled out Lou's ring.

Lou's lips parted. She laughed incredulously. "Peter—you…"

Peter looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"You had it with you this whole time…" Lou said, moving a hand to her chest. "Oh my god, Peter…"

Peter held the ring in front of himself, looking squarely at it. "You know…sometimes in life, we don't realize how good we have it. How lucky and fortunate we are to have our loved ones in our lives. And as sad and despairing as it is, sometimes it takes almost losing someone to realize their worth…to realize that you couldn't live your life without them…that living in a world without them is just…well, it's unimaginable."

Peter paused a moment, catching his breath. He finally looked up at her, gazing into her green eyes. "I love you so much, and I'm holding onto the hope that there's a still a part of you that loves me."

Lou looked at him, taken aback by his choice of words. She suddenly felt like she had to defend her love for him, say something to make him trust that love, to feel needed and to feel important to her. "Peter, what are you saying? Of course I love you. I always will. _Always._ "

"Yeah?" He asked, his eyes full of anticipation, a child-like quality to his voice.

Lou put a gentle hand to his arm. "Yeah! Of course…"

Peter laughed contentedly. Sighing, he slowly began, "Lou…I'm going to take our daughters to Vancouver. Once this whole mess is sorted out, I'm going to bring them back, and we will begin our new lives together. And we're going to be happy, happier than we ever were before. I swear it to you…" he trailed off. A moment later, "You know that meeting I went in for today?"

Lou nodded. "Yeah?"

"Well, it wasn't just an ordinary meeting. My company is actually opening up a location in Calgary. They've been planning it for months, and it's finally coming together in just a few weeks. I guess they saw I've been working from home more and more, so they figured they'd just transfer me here. And they're not just transferring me, they're actually promoting me to managing director. I'd be running the entire operation in Calgary."

Lou gasped happily, moving forward to hug Peter. "Oh my god—Peter! That is amazing news! I'm so happy for you."

"I'm happy too. This way I'll be closer to you guys."

Lou moved back. "Yeah, I guess you'll really be at home then, won't you?"

Peter nodded. "I will."

Lou looked at him, smiling and laughing happily through the tears. "I can't believe this. I just…I must be dreaming."

Peter smiled. "You're not. This is real. It's happening." Peter went to grab her hand. "You and I are going to make this work. Okay?"

Lou brought her other hand to hold onto Peter's. She nodded. "Yeah. We—we will."

Peter smiled. He brought the hand holding the ring up. Holding it in front of her, he asked her. And when he did, he could finally breathe again.

"Lou Fleming, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

"Yes! Yes, I will…"

He brought the ring and slipped it gently onto her finger. He went to hold her hand in his. Looking at the sight, he was awestruck. "It still fits…" he said thoughtfully, almost in a daze.

Lou's heart was aflutter, her smile beaming, her stomach jittery. She nudged his arm. "Of course it still fits!"

Peter burst into laughter, his smile lighting up his handsome face. He sighed happily, putting his hands gently to her arms. "This is real. We're together, and nothing on this earth can break us apart, do you hear me?"

"I hear you," Lou said, a smile in her voice.

Peter moved forward, his eyes welled up. He wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her small frame with his own wider one. He planted a loving kiss on her hair and held her against him gently and carefully.

In that moment, Peter swore to himself that this time around, he would not screw things up. He was going to value and cherish her, he was going to be there for her, and he was not going to walk away, no matter what. He was going to love her like there was no tomorrow, like every moment they had together would be their last, and so he was going to make every bit of it count.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Sooo, I'm back with a new chapter ;) Thanks for the reviews (ik I say that every time, but it's because I really mean it) and I love that you guys sometimes go back and share your thoughts about previous chapters. I love getting these discussions going. About chapter 19: yeah, I think it's a natural thing for a mom to freak out when her kid is sick and/or hurt, and it can drive them crazy. As kids, it's easy to get annoyed when our parents are freaking out, but they probably just can't help it. It's because they care so much and want us safe :)**

* * *

Lou and Peter emerged from the room. Lou's right hand was on her ring finger, completely covering it.

Amy looked back at the both of them curiously. Pursing her lips to conceal her smirk, she said, "So," Amy said, washing her hands and drying them on her apron. Taking the apron off, she moved toward them. "What's…going on?"

Lou glanced nervously to Peter, then looked back to Amy. "Well, we actually have some news."

Amy turned to look squarely at the two of them. Noticing they were standing awfully close, she asked, "What kind of news?"

Lou looked to Peter, and he looked down at her, smiling back. "Um, well…we realized that…that…"

"That even after everything that's happened, we still love each other," Lou began for him.

"And we could never be happy without each other, without our girls," Peter added.

Lou looked back at him, a soft smile at her lips.

Amy watched them, and she could almost feel her heart glowing with happiness, her eyes slowly welling with tears of happiness. She laughed softly, saying, "And?"

Lou removed her hand from off her ring, adjusting it a little. "And Peter asked if I would marry him, and I said yes," she said, curving her shoulders inward, sort of like a half-shrug, smiling and gushing with happiness.

Amy let out a laugh, bringing her hands to cover her mouth. "I am just—I am _so_ happy for the both of you!" Amy said, coming forward, engulfing Lou in a hug. "Oh my god, I'm just so happy for you two…"

When Lou and Amy moved out of the hug, Amy planted a quick kiss on Lou's cheek, bringing her hands up to cup her sister's face. They both laughed, pressing their foreheads together, and Amy eventually wrapped her arms around Lou again. "I love you."

"I love you too, Amy," Lou said, a smile in her voice.

Amy moved back, looking to Peter. "You made a good decision. I see you're a wise man."

Peter laughed, reaching out an arm to hug Amy.

Amy hugged her soon to be brother-in-law. She now felt comforted that this was her sister's soon to be husband, the man her sister loved. This was the father of her sister's children, and he would be there for them. He would protect them. When they moved out of the hug, Amy put a hand to Peter's arm. "Thank you, Peter."

Peter smiled, trying to keep himself together. He nodded.

Amy moved back, and that was when Lou slipped a hand behind Peter's back, leaning closer to him.

"So, when are you two getting married?" Amy asked, her eyes inquisitive, watching them.

Peter looked down at Lou, saying, "Well, we want to make this official as soon as possible."

Lou looked to him, saying, "We were thinking Thursday, actually."

"That's—that's soon," Amy said.

"Not soon enough," Peter remarked, making both Lou and Amy laugh.

Amy smiled, "Well, I'm excited. Where—where are you guys going to hold it?"

"We haven't really discussed that, but I mean—" Peter began.

"The dude ranch pier," Lou interjected, a smile at her lips. "That's where I want to get married."

"Really?" Peter asked, surprised that she had already thought about the venue.

"Yeah. That's where you proposed to me the first time, remember?"

"Yeah. I think that's perfect," Peter gushed, realizing then how meaningful it would be for the two of them to get married right where it all began.

* * *

Tim had offered to pick up his granddaughters from school that day. When the girls arrived home, Lou and Peter were seated at the roundtable and were in the middle of making something for dinner.

"Daddy!" Katie shouted happily.

Peter stood from his chair, swooping his daughter off the floor. "Hey…! Kitty Kat!" He hugged her, messing up her hair playfully.

"Daddy, stop it! You're ruining my hair!"

Peter laughed, ignoring Katie's concern for her hair. He planted a kiss on her head. "Oh, honey, I missed you," he said to her. He then walked over to Georgie and wrapped a loving arm around her, with Katie still in his arms. He kissed the top of Georgie's head. "I missed you, too."

"I missed you," said Georgie, hugging her father back, leaning into his heartfelt hug for a few moments.

"What, no hug for me?"

Peter moved away, and Georgie saw her mother had stood up, her hand resting on the counter. She smiled, walking over to hug Lou. As she felt her mother's arms go around her, Georgie's muscles relaxed.

Lou kissed Georgie's hair lovingly.

"Are you feeling alright, Mom?" Georgie, of course, asked.

Amy's words came back to Lou. _Your kids draw strength from you…If they see you've fallen weak, where is that going to leave them?_ "Yeah, I've been good. Really good."

Georgie hugged Lou tighter, sighing a breath of relief.

When they moved away from the hug, Lou looked to Peter and they shared a look. Peter nodded to Lou, who then looked back to Georgie, putting a hand to her daughter's face. "Sweetie, there's something your father and I want to tell you," she said, smiling. "Both of you," she said, looking to Katie as well.

"Yeah? What's going on?" Georgie asked, skeptical.

Peter cleared his throat. "Sweetheart, it's good news. Very good news, in fact. We've decided that we're going to…" Peter trailed off, deciding that this was something Lou should reveal to their daughters. Looking to Lou, he gave her a slight nod of his head.

So then, Lou said it. The words Georgie had wanted to hear for so long, but never did, until now, that is.

"Your father and I are getting married."

It took a moment to completely register what her mom had said to her. Suddenly, she was confused, and then the next moment when she had taken it all in, Georgie's emotions begun to overwhelm her. She laughed happily, her hand going to her mouth. She tried to stop herself, but she just couldn't. She began to cry tears of joy.

"Oh, honey…hey…"

Georgie's tears had gotten the best of her and she was full on crying now. "Mom, Dad…" she let out in between the tears.

Lou brought her arms around her daughter again. She could feel her shaking and trembling against her, and this ignited tears in Lou as well. "Oh, sweetie…"

"I feel like I must be dreaming, or something," Georgie said after a long pause. It was clear in her voice that she was disbelieving, completely taken aback by this.

"No. This is real," Lou said against Georgie's hair.

"If it's a dream, then I don't ever want to wake up."

Peter laughed. With Katie in his arms, he walked toward Lou and Georgie. Peter brought an arm around Lou, and Katie leaned forward to wrap her arms around Georgie. The family of four stayed in their happy little bubble, taking in the salvation of this moment.

Peter brought his arm tighter around Lou and planted a kiss on her head. Moving back, he set Katie down and got down to her level. He said to her, "Katie, honey, are you happy that Mommy and Daddy are getting married again?"

"Forever this time?" Katie asked.

Peter's lips parted, a glint in his eyes. "Forever this time," confirmed the father.

"Then I am happy," Katie said, a twinkle in her eye.

Peter laughed contentedly. He straightened, putting a hand to Katie's head.

Katie came forward, wrapping her arms around Peter's legs.

Georgie followed suit after her little sister and she swiftly strode over to where Peter stood just a little ways away and bumped into him, hugging her father tight. "I love you, Dad. Thank you…"

Peter put a hand to Georgie's head, keeping her close. "I love you, honey."

Lou walked forward, putting a hand to Peter's back, leaning her head to his shoulder. She brought an arm around Georgie, hugging her tight. She had dreamt of this day for a very long time, and now that it was finally here, she knew that it couldn't be more perfect.

Peter stood there, engulfed in the hugs of the three people that meant the world to him, the three people that _were his world_ , and he smiled to himself. This was his family. His beautiful family that he had finally managed to mend...For the first time in a long time, he felt content. He felt happy, and he didn't feel any crushing weight on his chest anymore. He could finally breathe, finally begin to set things straight, and finally begin to live.


	25. Chapter 25

**Hello lovelies! I've really missed posting on here, and I finally found some to write and post this chapter. Yessss. Also, I'm glad you guys liked the family's reaction to Lou and Peter's news ;) Thanks for reading!**

* * *

"Jeff! Jeff, guess what!?"

There was a smile in the young man's voice as he said, "Georgie, would you just tell me!"

"Lou and Peter are getting married! They're—they're _actually_ getting married!"

"WHAT!? Georgie, that's just—that's fantastic. I'm so happy for you! And see, what did I tell you? I knew they'd work things out. I told you."

"Yeah, yeah, you called it." Georgie said, a smirk making its way onto her face. "Okay, well, you have to come to the wedding!"

"Yeah, of course I will! When is it?"

"It's on Thursday."

"Wait, what…? You mean this Thursday? That's soon. I, uh—"

"So…? You'll be able to make it, right?"

"Oh, Georgie, I'm at this conference right now that doesn't end until Friday morning… I don't know if I can."

"Jeff!" Georgie groaned.

"Georgie, look, I'm really sorry! If it were on the Friday, I could try to make it, but…"

There was a knock at the door, and Georgie turned, the phone still held to her ear.

Lou stood there, a hand resting on the doorframe.

"Mom? Is everything okay?" Georgie asked.

Lou inhaled, shaking her head a little, dismissing Georgie's words. "Honey, what is it? What's the matter?"

Georgie exhaled, holding the phone out for Lou. "It's Jeff. He says he can't come."

Lou took the phone and put it to her ear. "Jeff? Honey, it's Lou. What's the matter? Why can't you make it…? Is everything okay there in Fort Mac?" Lou kept asking worriedly, making her way to sit on Georgie's bed.

"Yeah, it is. It is okay…it's just that I'm actually in Edmonton, at a conference that's supposed to last until Friday morning, and there's no way they'll let me out early. I—I could try asking, but you know my boss…" Jeff trailed off, sighing. "I can't believe I'm going to miss this. I can't believe I'm going to break her heart…"

"No, Jeff, don't." Lou said, glancing over at Georgie, who had her hands clasped together in anticipation. "It won't come to that. You know what? We'll have the wedding on Friday. We're going to be working out the details later, but—would Friday work, then? Would you be able to attend?"

Georgie sucked her breath in, moving ahead.

"Yeah! Yeah, that's perfect! I'll be there. I will. Thank you…" Jeff responded, relieved.

Lou laughed happily. "No, thank you. It means so much to us that you'll be here. It means a lot to me."

Jeff was quiet a moment. "I'm so happy for you and Peter. Congrats, Lou. I just knew you two would patch things up."

"Thanks, Jeff."

"Lou, if you don't mind me asking…why the rush with the wedding date?"

"Jeff, you know that…you know about—"

"Bennett. Yeah."

"Yeah, exactly. And…"

"And I know about Sunday. Peter called."

"Right…and Jeff, I'm _terrified_." Lou said, averting her eyes to Georgie's, who was looking back at her already. "And so…" Lou hesitated, biting her lip. She was fearful of Georgie's reaction. "Peter and I decided that the girls are going to Vancouver with him…this Friday. And we just, we wanted to get married before they left." Lou sensed Georgie tense up and take half a step back.

"For how long?" Jeff asked.

"I don't know yet…but Jeff, I—"

"You don't need to explain yourself. You're Georgie's mom. I completely understand, and you have my full support."

Lou exhaled in relief. "Jeff, thank you."

"Yeah, of course."

"Okay, you must be busy. I don't want to keep you from your work, but…Friday, okay? We'll see you then."

"Yeah, you will. Bye Lou."

"Bye, honey."

Once Lou was off the call, she handed Georgie's phone back to her.

Georgie took the device from Lou, shoving it in her pocket, exhaling angrily. "Vancouver!?"

Lou closed her eyes a moment, sighing. Putting a hand to the bed frame, she stood. "Sweetheart, you have to understand—"

"No! No, I don't understand!" Georgie's voice rose. "You can't seriously think that I'll actually go!"

Lou stepped forward, holding onto Georgie's hand. "No, don't do that…" Lou said, beginning to fret. "Honey, it's for the best."

"No, it isn't! Mom, you can't just send us away!"

Lou's eyes darkened, her heart squeezing painfully. "I'm not sending you _away_ …I'm doing this so that—"

"No, you know what? Just save it, because I really don't care." Georgie said harshly as she tore her hand away from Lou's, starting for the door.

Peter appeared in the doorway. "What is it?" He looked from Georgie's anger-filled face to Lou's distraught one. "What's going on?"

"Vancouver…" Lou said in a broken voice, looking to Georgie and then moving her gaze to Peter.

At the sound of Lou's voice, Georgie turned her head partly back to her mom, keeping her gaze low. She shut her eyes tight, sighing regretfully. Then she ran past Peter, heading down the stairs.

Lou bounded forward, about to go after Georgie. "Honey! Georgie, wait!"

Peter blocked her way. "Lou, just…just hold on. Let her come back to you on her own. She needs some time to process all this."

"But Peter, she—"

"She'll be fine." Peter said, bringing an arm around her head protectively.

Lou leaned into the hug. She cried softly into Peter's shoulder.

He brought his other arm around her, holding her tight. "She'll be fine."

A moment later, Lou heard the front door slam. She jolted, moving away from Peter. "She left the house. No, no...Peter, you have to go after her. The last time I let her walk out like that, she went missing...You have to go after her, make sure she doesn't—"

"Okay, okay." Peter said, putting a hand gently to her face. "I'll go get her." With that, Peter disappeared down the stairs.

* * *

A few minutes later, Peter and Georgie made it back into the house. Lou was waiting for them in the kitchen. Her back was to the door when they arrived, and once she heard it swing open, she whipped around. "Sweetheart…" she breathed out, finally a weight lifting off of her chest.

Georgie avoided Lou's gaze as she threw off her boots, and took off her jacket.

"Okay, so I have a couple errands to run." Peter said, stepping into the kitchen. "I'm taking Katie with me, and so while we're out, I want you two to figure things out, one way or another. We all need to be on the same page moving forward, okay? And please don't kill each other while I'm out."

Once Peter and Katie left, the house went deadly silent, and only the ticking of the clock was audible. The tension between the two of them could be sliced with a knife.

Neither of them knew where to begin, what to say…

Georgie watched Lou a minute. Her mother was sitting at the roundtable, her head in her hands. Georgie knew that getting angry wasn't about to solve the problem. The scene upstairs had proven just that. God, why couldn't she just be more gentle, more sensitive? Lou had been shaken when Georgie had reacted so strongly upstairs.

Georgie shut her eyes tight when she thought of how violently she had snapped her hand away from Lou. And then listening to Lou's voice shake and tremble afterwards had really cut at her. It hurt Georgie seeing Lou like this, except she'd been the one doing the hurting. _How am I any different from Warren, then?_

She walked over, calling out to Lou. "Mom." Putting a hand to Lou's wrist, Georgie said, "Mom, I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…I shouldn't have shouted at you like that, so loudly and so suddenly. I feel like…like I really startled you, and I'm so sorry."

"I'm not even thinking about that, honey."

"But I scared you, didn't I?"

"No, you didn't." Lou said, raising her head. She brought her hand to hold onto Georgie's. "The only thing that can scare me is the thought of you and your sister in danger." Lou's voice was quiet and breaking.

"Mom—"

"Georgie, listen. Just go to Vancouver with your father and sister. Please don't make this any more difficult than it already is."

"Okay, fine then. But you have to come with us."

"And what, just leave the rest of the family at his mercy...? Make _them_ his next targets?"

"You think that Katie and I are targets…? Mom, he wants nobody but you! That's why you have to get away. You have to get as far away from him as possible!"

"For how long?"

Georgie exhaled, unsure of what to say.

"I need to resolve things. I need to end this, once and for all."

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

"That's not for you to worry about. You just need to get away. I can't risk anything happening to you two."

"Fine. Send Katie to Vancouver with Dad. But if you're staying, then so am I."

"No, you can't. What if he comes after you? What if when he comes back, he—"

"I don't care what he does to me."

Lou's head shot up. She felt her chest tighten, her breath get hitched up in her throat. "But I—I do…sweetheart, look at me! Listen to me for a minute."

Georgie sighed, folding her arms across her chest.

"Georgie, you can't just say something like that to me—to my face—and expect me to be just fine with it. Do you have any idea what—what I went through when you went missing—?"

"Mom, really, this again…? You're never going to let it go, are you?"

Lou sighed. "Up until that day, I had never felt such immense fear and restlessness…and fear seems like such a small word to describe what I went through in those twenty-four hours. But I just…I never want to feel that way again…"

Georgie was quiet a moment, contemplating. "Ty told me you didn't sleep that night. That you were out, looking for me."

"I couldn't. Knowing that you were— _not_ knowing where you were, what you were going through…"

Georgie looked at Lou, perplexed. "Mom, I was fine…"

"But I didn't know that! Alright…? And I was losing my mind, and—"

"And you kept yourself up all night, and you went god knows where. You were just driving all night, without a thought to yourself—anything could have happened! Why would you do that?"

Lou shook her head, her eyes welling up. "Because I didn't know if my daughter was safe or not…so how could I be conscious of _anything_ around me? I felt like a corpse, unable to think, unable to do anything besides trying to figure out where you were. I just…I felt like I was already dead."

"Mom, just stop it!"

"And I never want to feel that way again…So please, honey…just go to Vancouver, just do as I say…do it for me. Please?"

"But I don't want to leave you."

Lou's eyes went sad, her lip beginning to quiver. "I don't want you to leave me either. But I'm begging you at this point."

Georgie had a lot more to say, to argue in her own defense. But she stopped, in fear of what she'd let slip if she quit thinking clearly. So she took a different, more humble approach. "Then promise me that you'll take care of yourself. No more running around trying to keep the house in order, or cooking and cleaning…just let someone else take over. You need to focus on your recovery."

Lou nodded.

"Promise me."

"I promise."

Georgie nodded, content. "And just know that if I'm going, it's…I'm doing it for you, because I don't want anything happening to you. I'm not doing it for me…I would never abandon you like that."

Lou's head went up. "Abandon me? Who said anything about—" Lou broke off, realizing then. Her lips parted. "You heard him that day."

Georgie nodded.

"Oh, honey…no, I know you're not abandoning me, or anything of the sort. This is my decision, and it's not on you."

Georgie looked down, nodding her head. "I'll go, but Mom…promise me you'll stay safe. Don't ever find yourself in a situation where you're alone with him…just promise you'll always have someone there for you."

"I promise."

"Okay then."

"Oh, sweetie, thank you…thank you for doing this."

Georgie quieted. She moved forward to wrap her arms around her mother. She caressed Lou's hair, lightly combing her fingers through the locks. "I'm doing it for you."

They were both quiet a minute, holding onto each other and the love they had for one another.

"We're going to get through this, right?" Georgie asked, still holding Lou against her.

"We will." Lou answered, wrapping her arms tighter around her baby girl.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Hi guys! So I was reading your reviews, and first off, I want to say thanks for your continued support. Second, to Guest reviewer: my original plan _was_ to have Warren crash the wedding (!) but then I took it out. I figured I should just let Lou and Peter get married in peace, they've been through enough! It's so cool though, that you guessed that, it's like you read my mind or something ;)**

* * *

After dinner, Lou and Amy sat in the living room together while Peter and Katie were inside reading a book for school and Jack was out with Tim.

"So, everything seems to be coming together." Amy was ecstatic about her sister's wedding. "I just can't wait to be maid of honour."

Lou looked at her, smirking a little. "You're sure? The last time it took quite a bit of convincing to get you on board."

Amy sighed regretfully. "I know…I'm sorry. I was just young, and in high school, and…"

"And trying to avoid the bridezilla that was your sister." Lou finished for her.

Amy laughed. "You said it, not me."

"Yeah, okay." Lou laughed as well, her face lighting up. "Thanks."

"You know, it's kind of incredible…your daughters are going to watch their parents get married. If only you and I had that chance with Mom and Dad."

Lou nodded. "Yeah, you're right." Lou said quietly, delving into her thoughts.

"So who's going to be Peter's best man?" Amy asked quickly, distracting Lou.

"I was hoping he would ask Ty again."

"Oh…yeah…" Amy perked up. "Ty would love that."

"Well, at least we can count on him to step up." Lou teased.

"Okay, that's enough." Amy said in a firm voice, but it was nice to be able to laugh with Lou. After a moment of silence, she said, "So, you're feeling okay?"

"Yeah, definitely. Like you said, everything seems to be coming together." Lou answered.

"No, I know. I mean…you know, physically. The doctor did list off all those symptoms, and I've been kind of freaking out all day."

"Wait, Amy, what did you just say?"

Amy swung around, standing up. "Georgie! It's—it's nothing. I was just—" Amy broke off, sighing.

Georgie's lips were parted as she walked forward into the living room. She looked at Lou, and judging by her mom's face, Georgie knew that something must be up. "You went to the hospital today!? When I got back from school, you told me you were fine! Why didn't you just tell me the truth?"

"Georgie…" Amy said gently, bringing her niece's attention away from her mother. "Look, before you freak out and get the wrong idea, just know that everything's okay."

"Well, if everything's okay, then why do the both of you look so guilty?" Georgie looked from Amy to Lou. "Seriously, just say something!" Georgie burst out. "Is this why you're sending us away? Is something about to happen to you?"

Lou exhaled. "Sweetie, no! Just relax…you're reading too much into it, and all that's doing is hurting you."

Georgie blew out her breath, exasperated. "Mom, don't… _don't_ do that. This isn't about me, okay? Just talk to me, please!" Georgie was begging.

Her niece's face had gone pale, completely flushed of colour. Amy now understood why Lou hesitated so much to tell Georgie anything about what was going on with her. "Georgie, look at me. Nothing's wrong, really. We were just saying that Lou needs to take it easy for the next little while. It's been a bit of a hectic week."

"What? That's it?" Georgie looked at Lou, whose gaze was stolen to the space beneath her.

"Yes, that's it." Amy answered, a smile on her face.

"Nothing happened at the hospital? Everything checked out?"

Amy nodded. "It all checked out. She's safe."

Georgie let out a flustered breath. "Well, what about what the doctor was saying? What was that about?"

"She was just overcompensating, warning us about what _could_ happen if we didn't look after one thing, or another. She was just telling us to be cautious."

Georgie looked at Amy, and the look in Amy's eyes convinced her she was telling the truth. She exhaled shakily, her shoulders relaxing. "That's it?" Georgie asked, again a vulnerability to her voice.

"That's all. I promise." Amy answered.

"Okay. Good." The teen said grimly as an exhausting silence descended on the room.

"Georgie…" Lou called out to her daughter. Her vision blurry, she blinked hard and fast. Listening to Georgie's voice break and waver cut at Lou. Her heart was still shuddering.

Georgie inhaled. "I have to go call Jade, let her know what time to come on Friday." She tried to excuse herself.

"No, Georgie, you can do that later. Come here." Lou held out her hand, gesturing for Georgie to come forward.

When Georgie took Lou's hand and sat down, she sighed quietly, looking down.

Lou looked at her, taking in this moment with her daughter. "Look, we don't have that much more time together until you go away to Vancouver. Let's not spend it like this."

Georgie looked down to the side. "Like what?" She asked stubbornly, her voice quiet.

Lou brought her hand to Georgie's face, bringing her daughter to look at her. "Like this. Angry at each other."

"I'm not angry at you." Georgie said, bringing her own hand up to grasp onto Lou's, squeezing it tight.

"There's been a lot of back and forth with us today."

"Okay, we won't fight anymore." Georgie promised, leaning her face into her mother's hand.

Lou laughed softly, masking her urge to cry with a smile to her face.

Georgie shifted and moved forward. She planted a kiss to her mother's forehead and then hugged Lou, as if to shelter her from whatever she thought she'd done wrong.

* * *

A little while later, Lou and Georgie were still in the living room. Georgie rested her head on Lou's lap while Lou stroked her hair.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"Look, I know that something like this won't happen again, but for what it's worth, I'm getting older. You can tell me things, even if you think you can't. I don't want to do this secrets thing anymore."

"Okay, we won't."

"Good, because I don't like unexpectedly stumbling upon information like that. I don't do it on purpose either, you know."

Lou laughed softly. "Yeah, I know."

It was silent for a bit, and then Georgie said, "Mom, how the hell did you get through it?"

"Honest answer? You and Katie got me through it all."

Georgie rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Okay, sure." She laughed.

Sensing the sarcasm in Georgie's voice, she was a little hurt. "I'm serious."

"Mom, I hate to break it to you, but that sounds kind of ridiculous."

Lou sighed, continuing to stroke Georgie's hair. "You won't understand. Not until you have kids of your own." She said with a smile in her voice.

"Right." Georgie was weirded out by the prospect of having kids. That was just so far away from now. "But Mom, you're good, right?"

Lou leaned down and planted a kiss on Georgie's temple. "Yeah, I am."

Just then Katie ran out of her room, looking for her mom and sister. When she spotted them, she made a face, clearly hurt at being left out. Both Lou and Georgie tried to suppress their laughter.

But Katie powered through and walked over to Lou and Georgie. "Mommy, can we watch a movie?"

Lou was surprised. "Oh, honey, I don't know…it's kind of late."

"Well, it's only seven o'clock." Georgie sided with her sister.

"Yeah, but…" Lou trailed off as she saw Peter walk into the room.

"Hey, I was thinking you and I and the girls could spend just a little time together before bed time. Maybe we can put on a TV show and just watch together."

"Oh, I don't know. It's kind of—"

"Mom, it's not late." Georgie said before Lou could go any further.

Lou figured she may as well give up. "Fine, I guess it wouldn't hurt. But we're shutting it off at nine. No arguments, okay?"

"Yay!" Katie exclaimed, excited.

Peter cleared the floor space so that him and Katie had room to sit. Once Peter and Katie eventually set up the movie, Georgie realized then what they were about to watch.

"Dad, we've watched Tangled a million times already!" Georgie groaned.

Katie came to the defense. "No! I love Tangled and I wanna watch it again!"

Georgie figured there was no point in arguing. "You're only watching it because you like to pretend you're Rapunzel."

"It's not pretend. I am the princess. You're just jealous." Katie let out in a sassy tone.

Lou began to laugh when she saw Peter's eyes widen at what Katie had just said.

"Mom! Stop laughing." Georgie said in a defeated tone.

"Okay, okay…I won't." Lou tried her best not to laugh.

"Mommy, stop! It's starting! Everyone, shhh!" Katie exclaimed.

About ten minutes into the movie, Peter looked over at Lou and Georgie, and he saw Georgie had fallen asleep in her mother's lap. "She's asleep," he mouthed to Lou.

Lou smiled and nodded, fully aware.

Peter returned her warm smile. Turning to Katie, he said, "Hey, honey…your sister's asleep. Do you mind if we turn down the volume a little?"

"Okay, but you'll still watch with me, right Daddy?"

"Of course I will, honey."

Lou watched over her family. She smiled at how happy Peter and Katie looked, and how normal everything felt, despite the past week. When Lou looked down at Georgie, she felt the urge to hug her as tight as she could, but stopped herself, knowing she'd wake up if Lou did so.

Peter sat with his back resting on the sofa, and he looked back at Lou. "Hey."

Lou looked to him, a smile at her lips.

"It's good to see you smiling. I'm glad you're happy."

Lou's eyes glinted. "I could say the same for you."

Peter reached for her hand, clasping onto it. He kissed it and said, "I love you, Lou Fleming."

"I love you too, Mr. Morris."


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Here's another chapter guys! I had a lot of fun writing it (which I always do, but you know) so I hope it's to your liking! I'd love the feedback, it's always appreciated. I'm curious on how you like the flashback scene... do you like it? Would you want more? I'm always open to requests. Oh and the wedding is in this chapter (should've mentioned that the last time ;)**

* * *

"Hey, what are you thinking?"

Lou snapped out of her reverie, her eyes travelling over to Peter.

His eyes had a concerned look about them. His look had a softness to it, like he wanted to be gentle, careful with her.

Lou smiled a little. "Nothing, I just…" Lou trailed off, looking down at Georgie. "I mean, Katie's too young to understand what happened, and she doesn't know what sorts of things I did—"

"Woah, woah. What are you talking about? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I did. I lied to the girls, the rest of the family. Repeatedly. I distanced myself and drowned myself in tears…I mean, my daughters needed me, and all I could think of was myself."

"All the lies were to protect them. And everyone needs to let out their tears at one point."

"Yeah, but Peter…I was just so selfish. I wasn't emotionally present for them. I wasn't the mother that they needed, or even the one I wanted to give them. I was gone for a really long time. In my place, there was this…stranger, I guess."

Peter looked at her questioningly.

"I just…felt myself slipping. Barely holding on. My mind was so consumed. Even when I was home, I wasn't. I was back there with him, listening to him scream and shout, listening to him call me names, feeling his pounding fists—" Lou broke off as she saw Peter flinch. She quieted a moment. "I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"No, no, just go on."

Lou sighed. "I just wasn't able to be a mother to them. Georgie took over. That wasn't even a little fair to put onto her." Lou said quietly. "She took care of herself, she took care of Katie…she took care of me." Lou said, laughing sadly. "How could I let her do that—how could I have been so selfish?"

"Honey, come on…" Peter turned to her, moving a hand over hers, squeezing tight.

"And she just forgave me for it."

"That says a lot about how you raised her."

"Maybe. You know, I specifically remember…after this fight I'd had with him…I came home and I was—well, I could feel the bruise under my shirt. It was on my side—here."

His eyes followed her hand. When she placed it at her ribcage, he recoiled internally, his heart shuddering. _Lou…_

"I stupidly forgot to shut the door to my room, and I was just looking at the bruising in the mirror, seeing just how bad it was, you know, if I should do something about it. Next thing I hear is Georgie's freaked out voice. I quickly just pulled my shirt down, but obviously it was too late. She'd seen it."

"And then?" There was a child-like anticipation in Peter's voice.

"She sat me down on the edge of the bed, probably worried I'd fall to pieces if I stood any longer, and then she headed out of the room. Once she came back, she had this ice pack in her hands. She wrapped it in this thin washcloth and helped put it to my bruise."

"Did she never say anything?" Peter asked when he'd seen Lou had gone quiet.

"Of course she said something." Lou said with a small smile. "She asked what happened, so I lied…I lied to my teenager and told her I tripped and fell at the dude ranch, that I didn't really want to get into the details."

"You lied to protect her."

"But I still lied. And every time that I did, it made me hate myself even more. She saw how freaked out I was, and she just stayed there with me. She told me not to move, that I should keep on using ice packs until the bruising went away, and…Peter, I let her take care of me."

Peter sighed. "There's nothing wrong with that. And it isn't as if you forced her."

"I may as well have. You just should've seen her—her face was full of so much fright, so much worry. And I put that on her. I let her believe that her mom was weak, in need of being taken care of. And that's not fair."

Peter thought a moment. "Well, at least you didn't become a drunk." He said matter-of-fact.

"Peter, this isn't funny."

"Nobody's making jokes here. I'm serious. You could've done a lot worse, but you were strong. You handled it way better than most people would have."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Of course."

Lou smiled. "Thanks. But it's just…she never even brought it up. She just let it go. I mean, she probably thought back to it after the truth came out, and knew that I lied."

"Because she didn't want to embarrass you. Is that so awful?"

Lou looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"You know, parents screw up all the time. And yeah, maybe we make selfish choices, but it's because we're human, you know, and it's bound to happen. The only thing we can hope for is that our children see that we didn't mean to hurt them, that what we did was out of blindness, ignorance. We hope that our children can find it in themselves to forgive us."

Lou looked at him, realizing he'd begun talking about himself. She put her hand onto his. "Peter, come on…they love you. Of course they've forgiven you."

Peter looked over at Katie, who was immersed in the movie. She sat happily, clinging onto her stuffed animal. Peter smiled to himself, and then looked over to Georgie. "Yeah, you're right." He stood to sit beside Lou.

Peter's arm went around her and she leaned her head into the crook of his neck. As she closed her eyes, she felt Peter plant a loving kiss on her hair.

"We both could've done a lot worse."

* * *

" _Where are you going?"_

" _Maggie's."_

 _Georgie gave her a look. "It's almost closing time."_

" _There's an emergency. I'm not really too sure on the details, but one of the servers, she…"_

 _Georgie was looking to Lou, waiting on an answer. "Yeah?"_

" _I'm not really too sure. I'll see when I get there."_

" _Okay, let me come with you."_

 _Lou's head snapped up. "Absolutely not. No, it's late and you have school tomorrow."_

 _Georgie sighed. "Fine, just be careful. And text me when you get there."_

" _Sure. Yeah."_

 _Hours later, Georgie sat at the roundtable in the kitchen. She glanced at her phone for about the millionth time and saw it was nearing ten o'clock. She sat up when she heard Lou's truck on the driveway. Sighing with relief, Georgie stood from the table._

 _She exited the ranch house and met Lou at the car. "Okay, seriously, Mom, where were my texts?" She demanded._

 _Lou sighed regretfully, getting out of the truck. "Oh no…honey, I forgot. I just, I got there, and everything just sort of…I'm sorry, I'll remember next time."_

" _You look seriously tired. Did—did the bruising get any better? It looked really bad before, as if it were spreading."_

" _Honey, that's ridiculous. It wasn't."_

" _Okay, yeah—" Georgie struggled to get the words out. "Because we stopped it, with the ice. Is it better now? Does it hurt?"_

" _A little."_

" _Maybe next time don't leave the house in the middle of everything to go to work. Not if you're all bruised up." Georgie had an inkling of annoyance in her voice._

" _Georgie, I didn't really have a choice." Lou sighed. "Right now, I just need one of those…um…"_

" _What, a heating pad?" Georgie guessed._

" _Yeah, that."_

" _Okay, no, that's not a good idea. You'd better stick to the ice for now."_

" _Oh." Lou looked at her, surprised._

" _Yeah, just trust me. Heat will only make it worse right now. Let's get you inside."_

 _Around twenty minutes later, Georgie texted Amy. She had explained the situation to her aunt and asked her to come over._

 _Amy arrived in no more than a couple of minutes. "Hey, Georgie."_

 _Georgie looked up from the computer, where she was frantically doing her best to research a cure of some sort. "Amy, thank god! Look, Jack and Lisa are asleep, and there's no one else here that I can ask for help. I wouldn't have bothered you, but—"_

" _Georgie, it's fine." Amy waved away her concern. "Just let me take over. You go to bed."_

" _Wait, what? No, I can't just let you—"_

" _Georgie, go to bed. Lou and I can handle it."_

 _Georgie sighed. "Okay. Um…when she's done with the ice, could you make sure to compress the bruise? It's supposed to help with swelling and pain, and it'll lessen—"_

" _Georgie, just relax. I'll do it, I promise. You go to bed."_

 _Minutes later, Amy arrived in Lou's room. Knocking, she called out her sister's name._

" _Amy? What are you doing here?"_

" _Taking care of you. Because apparently you're incapable."_

" _Amy, I didn't ask for you to come here. How did you…?"_

" _Georgie texted me."_

" _What? She's not asleep yet? I told her to go to bed."_

 _Amy laughed. "Yeah, well she was in the kitchen, waiting for me to get here."_

 _Lou groaned. "I didn't ask her to."_

" _You may as well have. Lou, come on! She's a teenager, you're the adult here. You're the one who's supposed to be looking after her, not the other way around!"_

" _I'm sorry, okay? I didn't think that she would—"_

 _Amy scoffed. "You know, you're not exactly meant to unload every single burden onto that kid. And then you head out of the house when you're meant to be resting? You obviously made everything worse. You need to start thinking about more than just yourself."_

" _Amy, it was a work emergency."_

" _You could have easily asked Dad to go in your place. And then you stayed out for hours! We all know Maggie's closes half past eight. What were you doing in town until ten?"_

 _Lou didn't respond._

" _And of course now you won't even answer me. Fine."_

" _Amy, would you please just stop getting so mad?"_

" _You know what? If your behaviour is affecting Georgie, then no, I'm not going to stop getting mad. You need to quit being so selfish. Wake up, Lou. You have two daughters. You're not twenty years old anymore, living in New York by yourself. There are people who wait for you to come home every night, in one piece."_

 _Lou sighed helplessly. She put a hand to her side, adjusting the ice pack. "Look, I don't want to fight with you. I'm sorry that you were disturbed. I'll talk to Georgie, this won't happen again."_

 _Amy noticed she was speaking stiffly, attempting to keep a straight face. "Don't do that. You didn't disturb me, okay? And I'm furious with you right now, but I told your daughter I'd help you with your bruise."_

" _I'll do it myself, you can go."_

" _Look, I know that neither of us want to be in the same room as each other—"_

" _Actually, it's just you...who doesn't want to be in a room with me."_

 _Amy paused a moment. "But I made a promise to my niece, and I'm not going to let whatever problems we have get in the way of that."_

 _Lou relented, too worn out to argue. "Okay. Fine."_

* * *

"Georgie, Katie…! Are you two ready yet?" Lou called out to her daughters. They were getting ready to go to the wedding ceremony which was meant to begin soon, and Lou wanted to be on time. "Girls?" Lou called again.

"Mom, I need help with my dress!" Georgie yelled back.

When Lou arrived in Katie's room, she saw Georgie was near to a mental breakdown. "Mom, seriously, where did you even find these!?"

Lou snickered, coming ahead. "I didn't. Lisa bought them for the two of you."

"Oh. Well…I just—"

"You don't have too much to say about it anymore, do you?"

Georgie laughed a little. "No, seriously, it's still just so impossible to—" Georgie broke off, reaching a hand behind her back, trying to close up the dress. She exhaled angrily. "Mom, help, please!"

"Okay, okay." Lou's voice was calm and soothing. She came ahead to save her daughter from the evil dress.

Once Lou was done with the dress, she turned Georgie toward the mirror. "Oh, honey, you look so pretty."

Georgie looked down at the dress. "Thanks," she said shyly.

Lou smiled as she fixed a lock of hair behind Georgie's ear. "Both of you look so pretty," she said, looking toward Katie as well, smiling to her youngest.

"Yeah, well, you look just beautiful." Georgie turned around to look at Lou. "That dress is really something."

Lou was surprised at the compliment. "Oh…thank you, sweetheart."

Georgie smiled, her dimples showing. "So when are we heading out?"

"Uh, I guess when Dad and Grandpa are ready to go. Maybe in thirty or forty minutes."

Georgie nodded. "Okay."

Lou noticed she'd gone a little quiet. "Hey, I'm sure Jeff will make it."

Georgie scoffed a little. "Yeah, he'd better. He said he'd be here."

"You know, worst comes to worst, we can delay the ceremony a little."

"No, absolutely not. We're not delaying it anymore."

"Maybe you should call him. See what's taking so long."

"I tried. His phone is going to voicemail. I'm guessing he's out of range, or something."

"Well then maybe we _should_ wait."

"No, he'll probably want us to start without him. I mean, he'll get here when he gets here, right?"

Lou exhaled. "Are you sure?"

Georgie nodded. "I'm sure he's just stuck in traffic, or something."

Lou looked at her. "Honey, I'm sorry…"

"No, seriously, don't be. I'm good." Georgie waved away Lou's concern.

Peter arrived right then, dressed in his tux. "There are my girls."

Lou looked at him. He had that smile at his lips, the one that had made her fall in love all those years ago.

Peter looked at her and came forward. "Lou, you look beautiful." He laughed, a little incredulous. "Wow, that dress."

"It's the same dress."

"Yeah, I remember. You look amazing."

"You don't look so bad yourself. I could almost say you look handsome in that tux."

He smiled again, blushing.

"But we're going to be wearing coats over these, aren't we?"

"Well, I guess it depends on how cold it is outside. I probably won't be."

"Right."

Before he could say anything else, Katie piped up. "Daddy, go away! You can't see the bride on the day of the wedding!"

Peter parted his lips. "Oh, honey, I really don't think—"

But Katie was adamant. She stood from her spot at the edge of her bed and made her way over to Peter. She grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room.

"No, Katie, honey, wait!" He laughed, holding back a little. He looked to Lou for some help.

Unfortunately for him, his bride-to-be was on their daughter's side. "She has a point."

"Aw, come on! Lou, we've been through this before, I just don't think that—"

"No, out—" Lou shooed him away. "I'll see you at the dude ranch."

When Peter was out of earshot, Lou turned to Georgie. "There, Katie got rid of him for us." She raised her hand to high-five Georgie.

Georgie giggled as she returned the gesture.

Lou moved to sit down on Katie's bed. She watched as Georgie adjusted herself in the mirror, fixing her hair again behind her ear.

Katie ran back into the room. "I got rid of Daddy!" She shouted excitedly. Katie looked at Georgie and noticing her dress, she walked over to her sister. "I like your dress better."

Georgie glanced at Lou a second. Looking back to her sister, she said, "Katie, we have the same dress."

"Yours looks better."

Georgie laughed. "I think yours does."

"Really?" Katie smiled mischievously.

Georgie laughed. "Really."

Katie looked back to her mom. "Mommy, tell Georgie she has to promise we'll play together in Vancouver. I don't like it when she goes on her phone."

"Katie!" Georgie said, unhappy at being caught. "I never go on it."

"Yeah you do."

Georgie sighed. "Okay, I won't go on it. We'll have fun together, I promise."

"Good." Katie said, raising her chin and feeling all important. She turned to Lou. "Mommy? Mommy?"

"Yeah, sweetie."

Katie walked ahead and hugged Lou. "I'm going to miss you."

Georgie stiffened at their exchange. She wished her sister would have just let it be. She looked on as Lou stroked her sister's hair and she said a few words back.

Lou looked back to Georgie, who had turned back to the mirror. She seemed to be airing out her dress. Looking back to Katie, she said, "And I'm going to miss you too. But your dad and sister will be with you the whole time."

"Why aren't you coming?"

"I have to stay here for a little bit, but I'll join you as soon as I can. Okay?"

"Okay."

Georgie walked over and sat beside Lou. "Hey. We love you. Doesn't matter where we are, we'll always love you."

"We'll always love you, Mommy." Katie added as well, with a cheeky smile.

Lou laughed through the tears that were quickly building up.

"Oh god, okay, no crying. You might…" Georgie began.

Katie ran over to the dresser and picked up the box of tissues. Returning, she lectured Lou as she took a tissue out. "Mommy, no crying, or else your makeup will be ruined."

Both Lou and Georgie laughed at her enthusiasm and sure footedness.

"She's right, you know. You don't want to mess up your makeup."

"No, I'm okay, I just…I can't believe you two are headed off to Vancouver tonight."

Georgie shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, well. It's not as if we have a choice, do we?"

Lou hummed in response. "Sweetie, promise you'll look after yourself and your sister."

"Promise." Georgie paused a moment. "Okay, can we just forget about it for a little while? I mean, look at today—you and Dad are getting married. Come on, that's so perfect. It's like this fairytale ending. Why don't we just get excited about that?"

Lou nodded. "You're right."

Georgie sighed, relieved. She looked down, smiling to herself.

"What are you smiling at?" Lou asked, her brows furrowed in amusement.

She shrugged and planted a kiss on Lou's temple. Standing up, she said, "Just seeing how happy you and Dad are today."

* * *

"Katie, get into position! Stop fiddling with the bouquet!" Georgie whispered to her sister. "Mom's coming any minute now."

Georgie nervously glanced to Peter, who she then noticed was even more nervous than her. "Dad." She called out to him in a whisper.

Peter looked over at the sound of Georgie's voice.

"Good luck."

Peter chuckled nervously. He winked to his daughter.

Heads turned as Jack's truck arrived and he exited the vehicle, crossing to help Lou out of the truck.

As Lou emerged, she felt everyone's eyes on her. It didn't really feel like she was facing an audience, though. This was just her family. She felt comforted.

As both Tim and Jack came ahead to walk her down the dock, she breathed in a little. _Here goes nothing._

As they tread, Lou noticed how mild and calm the weather was. Despite it being December, it felt like early fall, but with a blanket of snow. Lou thought to herself she'd made a good choice in leaving her coat in the truck.

Lou's eyes met Peter's. She suddenly felt overwhelmed, her heart aflutter. It was this feeling of deja vu, wasn't it? She was brought back suddenly to the day they'd gotten married—the first time. As she arrived to her spot beside him, she breathed in a sigh of relief.

As the minister spoke, both Lou and Peter seemingly drifted away. Gazing into each other's eyes made them forget there even was a world beyond their bubble.

"You may now repeat your vows."

As Georgie listened in to her parents' vows, a thousand emotions ran through her. She stood there and watched as the two of them promised themselves to each other. There were smiles in their voices, their faces lit up in happiness. Georgie was thrilled, ecstatic.

Katie turned to her sister and smiled. Georgie returned the warmth of Katie's smile.

"Do you, Samantha Louise Fleming, take Peter Walter Morris to be your lawful, wedded husband?"

Lou smiled. "I do."

"And do you, Peter Walter Morris, take Samantha Louise Fleming to be your lawful, wedded wife?"

Peter's eyes glinted. "I do."

The next few moments felt like an eternity as everyone waited for the minister to announce that the two of them were married.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Katie turned to Georgie, her eyes wide. "Mommy and Daddy are…" Katie trailed off, clearly taken aback and rattled.

Georgie giggled at her sister's reaction.

Georgie turned to Jade, who smiled back. "Congrats, kid."

As Peter moved back, he gazed into Lou's green eyes. "Look at you…Mrs..."

Lou blushed a little. She felt young again, carefree and ready to take on the world.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Morris."

Peter smiled to her. "Well, there you go. Mrs. Morris."


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for your patience, but really, I'm so sorry for the long wait. It's just that I've got exams next month, as well as later on in May, so I'm a little swamped with eVeRythInG. I hope this chapter is to your liking, though! Let me know what you think, what clicked with you guys - that always helps me with my writing. And thank you for the reviews, as always ;)**

* * *

 _Amy moved to sit at Lou's bedside. Reaching forward, she dropped the bandages onto the side table. "You done with the ice?"_

 _"Yeah, I guess."_

 _Amy moved to carefully remove the pack from her sister's grasp. "Okay, let me see the bruise."_

 _"Amy…" Lou let out, hesitating._

 _"I'll be careful. You won't feel a thing." Amy promised as she gently rolled Lou's shirt up. "Oh god, this is just…Lou, what the hell happened?"_

 _"I fell…" Lou inhaled sharply. "...at the dude ranch." Her voice came out tight and strained._

 _Amy paused a moment, hesitating. "This doesn't look like a fall. I know what bruising from a fall looks like, even a shove…and this isn't it."_

 _"Well, I'm telling you I got this when I tripped over the steps at the dude ranch cabin."_

 _"Okay, okay." Amy said, perplexed. She exhaled heavily. "It's just, this looks like it was deliberate."_

 _"What…?"_

 _"It looks like you were pushed into something sharp, like a piece of furniture, or something. Like you were moments from it cutting into your skin."_

 _"Amy, just relax, would you? I know it looks disgusting, but—"_

 _"Okay, hey…relax. Just stop that." Amy gently put her hand to Lou's arm, trying to steady her own shaking. "How bad does it hurt?"_

 _"I don't know, a lot…"_

 _Amy sighed and moved to help Lou sit up. Once settled, she went to grab the bandages. "Okay, look at me. You tell me if I'm doing it too tight, or if it begins to hurt even more."_

 _Lou nodded. "Sure."_

 _As Amy wrapped the bandages around Lou's torso, she felt her own stomach get tied up in knots seeing her sister recoil and scrunch up her face in pain. She exhaled. "You need me to stop?"_

 _Lou seemed to hold her breath. "No, no…just hurry."_

 _"Alright, I'm almost done."_

 _Lou grimaced. "Yeah." She struggled to speak._

 _A minute or so later, when Amy was finished, she told her sister as much. "Okay. Done."_

 _Once Lou leaned back on the pillows with Amy's help, she exhaled, relieved. "Thanks."_

 _"Are you okay?"_

 _Lou nodded her head._

 _"Just don't move around too much…and get some rest. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Amy started for the door._

 _Lou reached for her hand. "Amy, wait."_

 _Amy turned to look at Lou. In that instant, she wanted to let go of her anger, forget today and just be there for her sister. She wanted to let Lou know she was there for her, ask her if she would be okay for the night. "Do you need something?"_

 _"No, I just…" Lou began, ready to come clean about…well, she wasn't sure. But when she looked at Amy, her sister's expression seemed cold and uninviting. "No. Not really." Lou said tiredly as she moved her hand back._

 _"Are you hungry?"_

 _Lou shook her head._

 _Amy stared back at Lou, who had her gaze cast down. "Where were you?"_

 _"What?"_

 _"You were gone for almost four hours, Lou. You missed dinner, you didn't even bother calling and you didn't respond to Georgie's texts, or my calls for that matter!"_

 _"Amy—"_

 _"Were you with someone? Someone you didn't want us to know about?" Amy downright accused._

 _"No, I wasn't!"_

 _Amy exhaled tightly. "Then…where were you?" She pressed her voice._

 _"It's not for you to worry about."_

 _"Oh, that's good. You know, for all I know, you could've been—" Amy broke off, unsure of what she even wanted to say to Lou._

 _"Could've been what?"_

 _"When someone doesn't answer their phone for several consecutive hours, what is the caller supposed to think?!" Amy demanded._

 _Lou's lips parted. "Oh my god, Amy—"_

 _"Next time you're hurt this badly—if you're all bruised up, don't you even dare step foot outside. After Georgie told me about you, what was I supposed to think when you didn't pick up your phone?"_

 _"Amy, if you would just let me explain—"_

 _Amy moved to sit beside Lou. "Come on, you're the adult here. You need to be more responsible, more aware of everyone around you. Stop torturing us like this by disappearing without a trace. Just leave a text maybe, or—or at least just answer your phone! I don't care how mad you are at me, you answer when I call you!"_

 _"I wasn't ignoring your calls, okay? But I didn't think you would—you would even care where I was…"_

 _"Right, that's why I called you only about a hundred times."_

 _"Amy, I didn't know you called. I didn't have my phone on me. I still haven't even gotten around to checking it." Lou defended._

 _"You've gotten really good at lying, haven't you?" Amy accused, her blue eyes twinged with anger._

 _"Amy—"_

 _"You know what, you're right, I don't care. Do with your life whatever the hell you want. Live it, or don't. Throw it away, and I won't even give a damn."_

 _Lou flinched. Stricken by Amy's words, she was left speechless. "Amy…you—" She broke off, losing her voice. Lou looked away, laughing a little. "Okay, thanks. Maybe I will."_

 _Amy sighed heavily. "You know I didn't mean that."_

 _"Amy, it's fine. Just go."_

 _Amy reached forward a hand to Lou's face, turning her to face her. "Lou, hey, come on…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to blow up at you. You know I love you."_

 _Lou shook her head, as if to dismiss Amy's words. "Just please, just go…I need some sleep…"_

 _"No, no, please just let me stay here a little while. For you."_

 _Lou was silent._

 _"Lou, say something."_

 _"Would you shut the door behind you on your way out?"_

* * *

 _"Is she alright…?"_

 _"Yeah—?"_

 _"Well, what's the matter then? You look all…I don't know…"_

 _Amy sighed. "Nothing. I just…I yelled at her in there, and now all I want to do is go back and be there for her, say I'm sorry…"_

 _Georgie blew out her breath. "Why do the two of you just never stop fighting? And you, Amy, you know she's not in a good place right now. I mean, do you have any idea how messed up she gets when you're mad at her?"_

 _Amy looked back at Georgie. "What…? What are you talking about?"_

 _Georgie paused a moment before she said, "Nothing. She's absolutely fine. At least that's what she tells me right before she slams the door in my face and doesn't come out until I beg her to."_

 _"What…? Georgie, what are you—? When did this happen?"_

 _"What do you even care? You weren't there! I had to pick up your mess! It took me about a half hour to get her to open the door, and—and the whole time, I just kept thinking…what if something happens while I'm standing on this side of the door, and she's in there, all alone?"_

 _Amy's throat closed up. "Why would you even think something like that?"_

 _"I'm going to go check on her…" Georgie said, evading Amy's question._

 _"You sure that's a good idea?"_

 _"No, but she needs someone. The way you two are going at it, I'm pretty much all she has right now."_

 _"Georgie, come on. Don't do that."_

 _Georgie looked at Amy a moment. "I'll be back."_

 _"No, wait. Just let her go to sleep for now. Talk to her in the morning."_

 _"You're sure?"_

 _Amy nodded. "I'll, um—I'll sleep in my old room tonight, keep an eye on her."_

 _"Really? You'll stay here?" Georgie sounded relieved, a weight lifting off her shoulders._

 _"Yeah, I will. You just, you go to bed. Please."_

* * *

 _In the morning, Georgie came down the steps and noticed how quiet everything was._

 _Unalarmed, she headed toward her mom's room. Her mother was probably still asleep. She could handle getting her sister and herself ready for school, she'd done it before._

 _Arriving to Lou's room, she cracked it open. Lou was asleep, just as she had thought. Walking ahead, she noticed something felt…off? She moved closer and saw Lou still had her day clothes on, and she seemed really still, her arm hanging off the side of the bed._

 _"Mom…?" Georgie called out, grabbing onto Lou's shoulder, shaking it a little. Georgie's stomach dropped and her mouth went dry when Lou didn't respond._

 _"Mom? Mom!"_

 _Lou jolted awake. "Honey, what's wrong?" Lou mumbled as she brought her arm away from the edge of the bed to rest on her side._

 _Georgie sucked in her breath, taking a step back. She was beyond relieved, and she felt her racing pulse slow down a little._

 _"Everything okay?"_

 _Georgie swallowed. "Yeah, yeah…I just thought I'd wake you up, see if you wanted breakfast."_

 _"Sure, I'll be up in a minute or two. But I'll—I'll make breakfast."_

 _Georgie sat down beside Lou. "Okay. Are you sure you're feeling better?"_

 _"Yeah, definitely."_

 _"Did Amy help you last night…with the bandages?"_

 _Lou nodded._

 _"I was…well, I meant to help you with them, but I just couldn't bring myself to look at the bruise. The one time was enough."_

 _"Oh, no, it's okay. I get it."_

 _"Okay. Um, I meant to ask yesterday, but there was a lot of other stuff going on as well…"_

 _"What is it? Everything okay?"_

 _Georgie nodded. "Yeah, it's just…there's an overnight trip this weekend, and…and we leave Friday morning, get back late Sunday afternoon."_

 _"This Friday?"_

 _Georgie nodded._

 _"Oh, honey, I don't know. It's kind of last minute. And you have a show this weekend."_

 _"I know, but it's just one show. I can miss it."_

 _"What about schoolwork?"_

 _"I can get it done when I get back. And our teachers are going with us as well, they understand."_

 _Lou exhaled heavily. "Georgie, honey, I don't know…it doesn't seem like a good idea."_

 _"Come on, just let me go."_

 _"Let me think about it."_

 _"Okay, I get it. You're saying no. Fine." Georgie let out, standing up._

 _Lou reached out for Georgie's hand. "Wait a minute, don't get mad."_

 _Georgie sighed tightly. "Look, I should go get ready."_

 _"No, wait. We need to work this out."_

 _"There's no working this out. You've already said no."_

 _Lou quickly moved to sit up, all the while keeping her grasp on Georgie's wrist._

 _"Lou, stop, be careful."_

 _Lou eventually got herself to sit up. "Look, if you want to go, you can go. I just feel like it's this frivolous outing that's going to be taking up your time. Time that you could be using to do other, more important things."_

 _"It's just this once."_

 _"Honey, I said you can go."_

 _"But you're mad about it, I can tell."_

 _"I'm not mad, and sweetheart, since when do you even care what I think?"_

 _"What is that even supposed to mean? You're making me feel bad about going."_

 _"What? No, I'm not—"_

 _"Fine, then. I won't go."_

 _Lou was flustered. "Honey, I said—"_

 _"Just forget it."_

 _Lou laughed a little. "No, I want you to go. Just go have some fun, okay? Don't worry about it."_

 _Georgie exhaled. "And you're sure you'll be okay?"_

 _Lou was taken aback. "Honey, that's not—don't worry about whether or not I'll be fine. Worry about having fun."_

 _"Okay, but your bruising…"_

 _Lou exhaled, a small smile on her lips. "I love you for worrying, but don't let this keep you from going. I have a lot of support here. There's Dad, Grandpa, Amy…"_

 _"I'll believe that when I see it."_

 _Lou studied her. "Honey, what are you…?"_

 _Georgie shook her head. "You're alone right now. And I can't…I can't leave you."_

 _Lou paused a moment. "That isn't for you to worry about. Georgie, I can handle being alone. What I can't handle is you throwing away time with your friends for me."_

 _Georgie just looked at Lou, unsure of what to say, what to do._

 _"Okay, just forget about all that. I have Grandpa and Lisa here, okay? If I need something, I'll ask them for it."_

 _"Promise?"_

 _Lou nodded. "Yeah. I promise."_

* * *

 _On Friday afternoon, Amy returned from seeing a client, and she walked back into the ranch house, determined to have a talk with her sister. "Lou?" She called out._

 _The house was quiet. Had Lou stepped out? Where could she have gone? Amy had just seen her truck parked outside. "Lou, you in here?"_

 _Arriving in Lou's room, Amy stopped dead in her tracks. She felt her legs buckle underneath her as she fell beside Lou's unconscious form. Amy laboriously moved Lou onto her back, racing to find a pulse or a sign of breathing. Amy moved a hand to Lou's face, caressing her hair. "Lou? Hey, come on, I'm sorry." Shaking her shoulder, Amy tried to nudge her sister awake. "God, Lou, just wake up! Lou, come on, just open your eyes."_

 _"Just open your eyes..."_


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Here's another quick update! Thank you guys so much for the reviews, it was great to read your responses! To heartland-fan, don't worry, next chapter will be in the present day. It's going to be an important one, so I do want to take some time with it and not rush the writing process. Hope you understand ;) And the Katie story is definitely something I will consider; it's an awesome idea! Thanks for sending in a request!**

* * *

 _Amy frantically searched for a pulse, bringing her fingers to Lou's wrist. After a long few seconds, she felt a slowed beating sensation. She carefully tilted Lou's head back to try to open up her airway. Was she doing it right? Would this even help? Amy didn't know._

 _Lou's phone suddenly rang, and Amy's head turned to the the lit up device by the foot of Lou's bed. Amy scrambled to reach it and she saw the call display had just a number she didn't recognize. She quickly pressed decline and instead rushed to dial 9-1-1._

 _Once on the phone with emergency services, she was even more crazed and panicked, but she vaguely heard the person on the other end of the line ask if Lou was breathing. "Breathing…um, hold on…" Amy trailed off, looking for a sign of movement. As she narrowed her focus, she finally saw her sister's chest rise and fall. Looking for a few seconds more, to make sure she hadn't imagined it, she said,"Yeah, yeah, she's breathing. Okay, she's breathing…oh god…" Amy was beyond relieved._

* * *

 _Over an hour later, Amy was pacing back and forth in Lou's cubicle in the emergency room. Stopping a minute, she turned and forced herself to look at her sister. Lou looked deathly pale, and she lay almost completely still. The only sign of life was from her chest rising and falling ever so slightly._

 _Paranoid, she looked to the monitor that Lou was hooked up to. The signals were going up and down and the consistency of their movement made Amy feel a lot better. As long as they were going up and down, she thought._

 _When Lou finally began to open her eyes, Amy breathed a sigh of relief and rushed to her side. "Lou? Hey, it's me."_

" _Amy, what's—" Lou broke off, looking around the small space they were in. "Where am I?"_

" _You're in the ER."_

" _What…? Again?"_

 _Amy was taken aback. "Again? What the hell are you talking about?"_

" _Wait, what happened to me?" Lou was still clearly disoriented._

" _I found you on your bedroom floor. Lou, you were unconscious."_

 _The look on Lou's face went from lost and confused to frantic and worried in a split second. "My phone—I need my phone."_

" _What? No, absolutely not. The only thing you need to think about is resting."_

" _No, I need to get a hold of Georgie. She wasn't answering my calls before." Lou's voice sounded desperate as she tried to get herself up._

 _Amy moved to get Lou back down again. "Hey, just calm down. She called you back a while ago with Jade's phone. She left a message saying her own network doesn't work all the way out there, so you're going to have to call back on that number if you want to talk to her."_

" _Georgie called back? You're absolutely sure?"_

" _Yeah, and you know what, she sounds like she's having a good time. Let's just not interrupt that for now."_

 _Lou exhaled heavily, her head hitting the pillow. She shut her eyes tight a moment._

" _Don't tell me that Georgie not answering her phone is what put you in here."_

 _Lou slowly breathed in and out, still reeling from the sudden panic. Instead of saying anything to Amy, Lou figured she'd just let it be. Besides, Amy wasn't completely wrong. Lou really had been trying to get a hold of Georgie when she went down._

 _Amy wasn't entirely sure what instinct overcame her, but she brought her hand to stroke Lou's hair._

 _Amy was quiet for a few minutes or so, but after that, she spoke. "You scared the hell out of me, you know that?"_

 _Lou tilted her head back to look at Amy. She paused a moment before responding. "I thought you didn't give a damn." Lou's voice was quiet and weak._

 _Amy's throat went tight as she leaned down and kissed Lou's temple. Smoothing out her sister's hair, she quietly spoke. "Don't…"_

 _Amy's loving touch ignited Lou's tears. It had been so long since they'd spoken to each other like this. Lou realized just how devastatingly she'd missed her sister._

" _I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I was mad, and it just came out. I didn't mean it, not in the least. God, do you have any idea what a mess I'd be without you?"_

 _Lou was quiet, not in the mood to talk about this._

" _When I saw you down on the ground, I—I don't know, I thought that you'd done something to yourself, that you were gone."_

 _Lou stole away from Amy's gaze. Trying to distract herself, she began to stare at the pale green gingham curtain that enclosed her cubicle. It was a really ugly piece of cloth, Lou thought to herself in horror._

" _I tried waking you up, and I gathered you in my arms…I was—I was just shaking. But you were so still."_

 _Amy's words eventually came through to Lou and it took her a second to register what her sister was talking about. Lou's heart shuddered at what Amy was describing._

 _Amy brought her fingers to her quivering lips, aiming herself not to begin crying in front of Lou. Her eyes did well up, though, and she felt her sister's eyes on her._

 _Lou looked at her, feeling awful about what she had put Amy through. "I really scared you, didn't I?"_

 _Amy nodded._

 _Surprising herself even, a moment later, Lou smirked. "Well, good, I'm glad. Serves you right."_

 _A chill ran through Amy's spine as the images of Lou's unresponsive form came back to her. "Lou, this isn't funny."_

" _It kind of is, you know. Just a little."_

" _Yeah, it's hilarious. I thought you were dead." Amy let out in anger, masking her feeling of helplessness. "I thought I lost you, and…"_

 _Lou stole a glance at Amy as she struggled to find her words._

" _I can't." Amy finally said, her voice pained. "I just can't lose you."_

 _Lou was quiet a moment. "You'd be fine without me, I know it."_

" _Okay, I know I hurt you when I said what I said, but—"_

" _No, I'm not saying any of this to get back at you."_

 _Amy looked at Lou. She seemed so distant, so lost in her thoughts somewhere. Her words seemed completely sincere._

" _I'm saying…you never know what life is going to throw at you. What if something ever does happen? What are you going to do then?"_

" _Well, I don't want to think about that. Why should I think about that? Just drop it already."_

 _Lou's head turned to Amy. "Why should I drop it? Maybe you should be thinking about it!" Lou let out, getting visibly upset._

 _Alarmed, Amy put a hand to Lou's shoulder, trying to keep her still and calm. "Okay, okay. Don't get yourself all worked up."_

 _The older sister exhaled, her head hitting the pillow._

 _Before Amy could say another word, an ER doctor stepped into the cubicle. He had lab reports ready that he wanted to talk to Lou about._

 _Lou tried listening in on what he was saying, but she just couldn't care less at this point. When he was finally gone, Lou's vision zeroed in on Amy, who looked relieved, a lightness about her._

" _Hey, you're okay. He said they didn't find anything wrong, that you were probably just under some sort of strain."_

" _Did he say when we could leave?"_

" _Oh, I don't know…" Amy trailed off, nodding her head toward the IV. "I'm guessing when that's emptied out, I can take you home."_

" _Right."_

" _We do have some time until then. Did you want me to go get you something?"_

 _Lou shook her head in response._

" _Okay, if you're sure." Amy said, quieting for a moment. "Hey, can I ask you something?"_

 _Lou looked to her, waiting for her to continue._

" _When you woke up, you asked me if you were in the ER again. What did you mean—when were you here before?"_

 _Lou sighed. "Amy, where do you think I went that night?"_

 _Amy moved back suddenly, inhaling sharply. "Are you kidding? What—it was that bad?"_

 _Lou nodded. "But I just couldn't bring myself to bother anyone at home. You guys didn't need that."_

 _Amy fell silent, lost in her thoughts._

" _And in the rush, I left my phone in the car."_

 _Amy looked up at that._

" _I wasn't ignoring your calls. You know I would never do that."_

 _Amy groaned, putting a hand to the back of her head, flustered. "Lou…why wouldn't you just tell me?"_

" _I was just worried you would run into Georgie and she'd get it out of you somehow…And maybe some weird part of me just wanted you to hate me."_

" _Why would you want that? That's just…" Amy trailed off, confused by Lou's words. "What's going on with you?"_

" _What are you talking about?"_

" _I—I don't know. Are you sick? Is that why you're acting so differently? Is that why you're distancing yourself?"_

 _Lou laughed derisively. "What, you think I'm dying…?"_

" _Because the way you've been acting these past few weeks—"_

" _I wouldn't hide something that big from you."_

" _Okay, but…you need you to tell me what's going on with you, what's bugging you so much. So that I can try to help. I have just never seen you like this before."_

" _This is just the way I am now, there's really nothing to do about it."_

" _That's not good enough. I don't believe you for a second."_

 _Lou exhaled. "Amy, I found out my husband was cheating on me for who knows how long. Maybe a year, maybe more. He doesn't love me anymore, probably never has. He was just so quick to bring up the divorce papers…"_

 _Amy didn't say anything, and instead waited for Lou to go on._

" _Even when I said that we should wait, that I needed time to get over what happened…that we still stood a chance—He threw me to the side, like I was this…thing stuck to the bottom of his boot. He didn't even think twice before drawing up those papers."_

" _Just forget about him and move on. You owe that to yourself."_

" _It's hard to get over someone you've been in love with for so many years."_

" _He broke your heart, so how can you still be so in love with him? Just forget about him already." Amy demanded her sister listen to her._

 _Lou shook her head. "Seeing where we are now, I guess he never loved me…not the way I loved him."_

" _Look, you have your kids who think the world of you. You have Dad and Grandpa, and you have me. You know we're all here for you…"_

 _Lou looked to Amy._

" _You don't need that man's love to get you through this. Lou, what about us? What about me? You know I love you so much."_

 _Lou laughed a little incredulously._

" _What?" What the heck was so funny this time? Amy thought to herself bemusedly._

" _It's been so long since I've heard you say that, and mean it." Lou said, a sad laugh escaping her lips, which slowly turned to tears. "If you'd kept this up any longer…"_

" _Okay, hey…" Amy moved to wipe her sister's tears. "None of that, alright? I'm so sorry about everything. We've been so messed up lately, and I just don't want to be like that anymore."_

" _I know you don't. And it's okay, I know that I've been really difficult. I'm sorry too."_

 _Amy paused a moment. "Don't freak me out like that again. Please, Lou."_

 _Lou smiled a genuine smile for the first time in long while. "I won't."_

* * *

 **A/N: Me again, just wanted to say that even though not much happened plot-wise this chapter, I did want to explore Lou's internal struggle and the effect it had on people around her, and even the effect it had on her. Like Guest said, Lou's family situation definitely changed the way she saw herself with Warren, and vice-versa. Great insight!**

 **Again, next chapter should be something to look forward to! Thanks for reading! :D**


	30. Chapter 30

Everyone was inside the dude ranch cabins, celebrating Lou and Peter's wedding . Georgie had stepped outside a minute, wanting to catch some air, but her feet continued to carry her farther and farther away and she eventually found herself all the way back at the ranch. Georgie made her way into the barn to see Phoenix.

Thinking back to the dude ranch, watching her mother and father and together just made her stomach turn. She knew they would be ripped away from each other in just a few hours, and the thought just made her shudder and want to disappear. Today was supposed to be a good day, one filled with celebrations and happiness. It wasn't meant to be full of painful goodbyes.

They wouldn't even be in this mess if Jeff had just agreed to come the day before. At least then they would have had one night to spend together as a family. And for what had her mother postponed the ceremony? Jeff hadn't even arrived yet, and it had all been for nothing.

Georgie promised herself she was going to give her brother an earful once she got ahold of him.

On second thought, Georgie decided she couldn't wait and she grabbed her phone from her jacket pocket and dialled her brother again.

Just like all morning, the phone didn't even ring. It went straight to voicemail, and Georgie was beside herself with annoyance. "Oh, Jeff, would you just answer already…? Where the hell are you?" She whispered to herself, waiting for the answering machine to begin recording her message. Once it beeped, she began, "Hey, Jeff…where are you? Look, I'm getting kind of worried, and I was really hoping to see you before I left…would you just…? Would you please just call me back when you can?"

Georgie turned as she heard Jade step into the barn. Georgie turned the call off, and put her phone away. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just looking for you. I figured you would've come back here, so I just drove over. Hope that's okay." Jade smiled a little, walking over to Georgie.

Georgie nodded wordlessly.

Jade turned to look at her best friend, whose face was ashen, her eyes troubled. "You okay?"

"Jeff won't pick up his phone, and I'm just…"

"Look, he probably got stuck along the way. You know how the roads get around this time."

Georgie nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. I just…I'm worried I won't see him before I go, and…"

"And?"

Georgie shrugged her shoulders. "I don't even want to go. I still have half a mind to just go back in there and tell them no. I just hate that today's going to end with a goodbye. It was meant to be a good day."

"And it was." Jade said, smiling. "Kid, your parents got _married_ today. How is that not just the best thing ever?"

Georgie laughed softly, looking up at her best friend. "You always know what to say."

Jade shrugged a shoulder, feeling pretty important right about then. After a couple of moments, she looked back at Georgie. "So, how come you didn't invite Adam today?" Jade asked slyly, knowing perfectly well why Adam wasn't here today.

"Oh, I don't know—it was just a close friends and family kind of thing."

Jade looked at her, not impressed. "But he is a close friend."

Georgie studied Jade a moment. "What—what are you—?"

"Look, I get it. You didn't want to invite him because it would have been hard to say goodbye to him, especially because you don't know how long it's going to be until you see each other again."

Georgie laughed. "How did you figure that one out?"

"I know from the way you look at him. You're crushing hard, aren't you?"

" _Jade."_

"What? I'm right, aren't I?"

Georgie scoffed. "It doesn't matter. Him and Olivia seem to be getting pretty close, so…"

"Oh, please. Adam likes _you_ , I know it."

Georgie sighed. "It doesn't matter anymore. I'm not going to be seeing him for a long time."

The look on Jade's face was sullen. "I know, I'm not going to see you for a long time either. I guess I didn't want to come over today for the same reason."

Georgie's lips parted, she was surprised. "Oh, come on. You have so many other friends, I'm just…"

"You finish that sentence, and I kill you."

Georgie laughed, her eyes glistening. "Alright, I won't."

"Just come here." Jade said as she moved forward, hugging Georgie tight. "I'm gonna miss you, kid."

Georgie hugged back, bringing her arms up to hold Jade as tight as she could. "I'm going to miss you…"

"You're my best friend, you know that."

Georgie smiled to herself. "And you're mine."

After a while of holding onto each other, they moved away from each other.

Jade couldn't hold in what she had to say, she just wanted her friend to know. "I'm really going to miss you."

Georgie nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak. Her throat felt tight, her chest was aching. "Jade…" She barely got out.

Jade looked up to the sound of Georgie's voice. "I'm sorry, I know. There's no need to get heavy on you right now."

Georgie shook her head. "I'm going to miss you so much, too. Promise me we'll keep in touch by text, or—or FaceTime."

Jade smiled, a soft laugh escaping her lips. "You got it."

Georgie returned the warmth of Jade's smile. "Awesome."

Jade noticed a shift in Georgie's body language, a shift in her eyes. They didn't seem to be emitting the same light as they were just moments ago. "What is it?"

"Hmm?"

"What's the matter? What are you thinking?"

"It's nothing, I just…" Georgie breathed out heavily. "That guy…that—that monster—thinking about what he did to her that night, it makes me crazy. Makes me want to go find him and kill him myself."

Jade was a little rattled by the intensity in Georgie's voice, but she understood her anger. "I know, I get that."

"And now my mom is making me go to Vancouver. As if I even want to…I mean, how am I going to protect her when I'm in another city, another province!?"

Jade sighed. She didn't have an answer for this.

"I can't do this. I can't just leave her." Georgie was beginning to panic, about to back out of everything. She walked over to just outside of the barn.

"Georgie, no." Jade followed after her. "You promised Lou that you would go, and you yourself said…she won't be okay until she knows you're out of harm's way."

Georgie sighed heavily, frustrated. "I know I said that, but it's just stupid. What if he comes back, and he hurts her again? How did my dad agree to leave with us? He should've tried harder—he…why does he never try?"

"Okay, come on…you don't mean that."

Georgie inhaled sharply. Her head turned a little, her eye catching a glimpse of something in the distance. Georgie put a hand to Jade's arm, clutching it in fear. "Jade, do you see that?"

"What are you talking about…?" There was a hint of fear in Jade's voice.

Georgie stopped herself, realizing what Jade would do if she told her the truth. Georgie quickly stopped herself, changed her demeanour, plastering a smile to her face. "I think that's Jeff's truck. He finally made it…"

"God, you scared me." Jade exhaled heavily. "Okay, let's go see him."

Georgie continued to hold onto Jade's arm. "You go back to the cabins and wait for us, I want to help him put his bags inside the house first."

Jade groaned. "Aw, come on! I want to see him!"

Georgie's heart was racing, her legs feeling shaky. "You'll see him in a few minutes. Just go!" She feigned laughter as she pushed Jade toward the direction of her truck.

Once Jade had driven well away and out of sight, Georgie turned back to look at the truck. She could feel her heart racing rhythmically against her ribcage. She leaned against the barn door, inhaling deeply.

* * *

"What the hell do you want?" Georgie heard herself say, as if her voice were a separate entity from her.

He stepped into the barn, his hands stuffed into his jacket pockets. "Where's your mother?"

Georgie scoffed. "You really think I'm going to tell you?"

"You'll have no choice."

Georgie stared at the ground by his feet, the blood pounding in her ears. She felt nauseous as she shifted her weight, trying to stay calm.

While Georgie knew already how fast he could move, she didn't see coming what he did next.

Grabbing onto the young girl's arm, he slammed her into a stall door, a hand at her throat. "Tell me where she is."

Georgie's back had hit the stall door violently but she could barely react to the pain that flared through her body, she could barely feel it. She was numb, completely focused on the man who stood in front of her, if he was even worthy of being called as such. "No." She choked out.

"No?" He laughed, a bewildered and disheveled look in his eyes. "Wow, I really didn't think you'd still be playing smart with me. I could raise a hand toward your mother, and she'd give in right away. She was so weak."

Anger flourished through Georgie's body, her eyes darkening. She moved her hand up and tried to move him away from her. "She isn't weak!"

He jolted her, slamming her into the stall again. "What do you know?"

"I know my mother—" Georgie gasped out. "And I know that you're making up lies about her."

"You go to the hospital to see her that day?"

Georgie's head went up, and she stared at him a quick moment before answering yes.

"You notice her lip, the scratches on her neck? You get a good look at those?"

"You go to hell."

Laughter erupted from his mouth, his hand going to rub the side of his face. He was trying to keep his calm. "Kid, you watch your mouth. Because what I did to her that night...I'll do way worse this time around. You hear me?"

"You're not going to touch her again." She wanted to sound more firm and definite, but the quiver in her voice just made her sound like a scared little girl.

"You've never stopped me before, how are you going to now?"

Georgie's breathing came out ragged as she said, "I'll kill you if I have to, you freak."

His eyes went dark and a maddening fury made its way onto his face. He walked over, grabbing Georgie's arm and twisting it behind her back so much so that it made her cry out. "You're just like your mother, aren't you? Always running your mouth. You know what happened to her the first time she spoke back to me?"

He began to laugh, revealing his teeth. He looked so daunting up close, his red-veined eyes scaring the life out of Georgie.

"What did you do to her?" Georgie's voice quivered, a whimper escaping her lips.

His maniacal laughter sent shivers up Georgie's spine. "You don't want to go there." He said menacingly as he threw Georgie back against the wall, pinning her there, a hand holding her collar.

" _Y_ ou know what, forget it. I want to talk about something more recent. It's weird…" He began, eyeing Georgie. "I told her just a few days ago to wait for me, that I'd call her…but what does she do—she goes and gets married. I wonder if she forgot what we talked about, or if she was trying to get back at me. I'm sure she's angry with me, I mean, we weren't on the best of terms."

Georgie stared at him, wondering what the hell was wrong with him, wondering if he was serious or just mocking her. She just couldn't tell, and was too afraid to ask.

"Or maybe that's just the way she is, jumping from one man to another."

Georgie's head turned sharply toward him. "Don't you dare talk about her like that. You keep your damn mouth shut." Anger surged through Georgie, and she didn't care what words spewed from her mouth—she didn't care what he did to retaliate—she wasn't going to listen to him talk about Lou like this.

"What did I say that was so wrong?"

"Stop blaming her for your actions. Don't you dare pretend to know who she is, because you don't!" Georgie spat out.

He clicked his tongue. "No, but I think I do…but nevermind, we don't need to argue about something that's just so painfully obvious."

Georgie scowled, her eyes getting angry. If Georgie hadn't been scared out of her wits at that very moment, she would have wanted to land a fist smack dab in between his eyes. She shuddered with dread, wishing he would just leave her the hell alone.

"So, where is she?"

"I'm not going to just lead you to her."

"Do you know how she got that scar on her shoulder?"

 _What was he talking about? What scar?_ "What the hell are you talking about?"

He ignored her question, leaning forward a little. "You want to know how I gave it to her?"

A shudder ran through Georgie's skull and she suddenly felt light-headed. "No. Don't tell me."

He moved away, loosening his hold on her.

Georgie's hand went to her neck. She rubbed it, as if trying to wash off the mark he left on her with his fingers.

"You know what a box cutter is? Had a couple lying around the apartment, so I just—"

"STOP!" Georgie yelled out suddenly, reaching behind her to place a hand to the stall door. "Just stop, please." Georgie's head was spinning, her mind racing.

Part of Georgie had wanted to know exactly what had happened to her mother, all that he had done to her because Lou had never given her the proper details, and not knowing made her feel out of control. But the more she thought about about it, and the more she saw what a monster he was, she knew Lou had kept things from her for good reason.

He reached into his pocket, and brought out the box cutter. "You know, telling me where she is…that's probably your best option at this point."

Georgie swallowed, watching as the blade emerged from the casing. Her lips parted and she spoke breathlessly. "I'm not telling you."

He raised his eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Georgie didn't budge. The young girl stood her ground.

"Just tell me where to find her, and I'll leave you alone."

"I won't! I'm not telling you—"

Before Georgie could finish, he tore away her shirt so that her shoulder was bare and he dug the blade in hard and fast.

As the blade cut into Georgie's skin, a shrill, piercing cry tore from her throat like shards of glass. Despite the pain she was in, Georgie couldn't do anything. Her body was paralyzed, she was unable to move, fearing he'd do worse to her if she tried to get away. So she let him hurt her, she silently endured what he was doing to her.

He held her down to the ground, squeezing down on her bloodied shoulder and making her cry out. "Why the hell are you being so protective? I just want to talk to her."

Georgie wept not for herself, but for her mother who had gone through the exact same torment, who had been at this monster's mercy over and over again for the past few months. She hated to think of everything Lou had gone through, and she knew…she knew it was ten times worse than this, and she also knew that she couldn't let him hurt her again.

So he could keep on asking for a location on Lou, but she wouldn't give in. She couldn't.

"Are you listening?" He demanded, pulling Georgie up and moving her to sit with her back against the wooden stall.

Georgie felt weak, her entire body shaking, and she was writhing in pain. Her head felt heavy and she could barely make out the figure in front of her, let alone hear what he was screaming at her.

To most, the sight of Georgie would have awaken a sense of sympathy, or maybe pity. Most people would have looked at her bloodied shoulder, her tear stained face, and the fear in her eyes, and their hearts would have shattered. But the creature in front of her had no heart, and he continued on.

"If you don't tell me where she is, I will do worse than this—" he gestured to her shoulder.

Georgie looked down at her shoulder and the sight made her head spin more than it already was. Her voice came out weak and quiet. "Do your worst. Do whatever you want, I'm not giving in."

"Why are you being so protective of her? What I want from Lou is not your business."

"She's my mother, it is my business." Georgie breathed out, closing her eyes momentarily.

He chuckled wryly. "You're kidding, right? From what I understand, you were some runaway that came begging at her doorstep just a few years ago."

Georgie's heart ripped in two. Is that really what the world thought of her? Is that what her mother thought of her? "I'm not just some…runaway—she's…she's my mom. She loves me."

"No such thing, kid. I had a mother—a real one, too—and she never loved me. Lou didn't birth you, you're not even hers, so what makes you think that woman cares even an ounce for you? Whatever she feels for you, it isn't love. Pity, maybe, but not love."

Georgie scoffed, looking down and away, trying to keep her tears at bay. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to know that you owe her nothing, because you _are_ nothing to her. Just tell me where she is, and I'll be on my way."

His words stabbed Georgie in the heart, and she stared at him a minute, her eyes welling up. She inhaled, holding her breath. "I'm not telling you where she is," she breathed out, blinking away the tears only for them to roll down her face.

His jaw clenched up, the muscles in his face went tight. "You won't tell me?"

Georgie shook her head wordlessly. She thought for sure he was going to slap her across her face and she flinched when he moved away from her and raised his hand…but he was holding it up, wanting something from her.

"Dial your mother, then hand over the phone."

Georgie's heart dropped down into her stomach. "What? No, no…" Georgie backed up, waving a hand in the air. "No, please…" Georgie worried that if he got her mother on the line, she would direct him to the dude ranch just to get him away from her daughter.

"Just hurry and give me your phone." He demanded.

As he stood, his jacket flapped to the side and Georgie saw his gun shoved into his pocket. She swallowed hard, standing up as well, though her legs shook so much she was sure she'd fall right back down. "Look, just leave her alone, take me. Do to me whatever the hell you want to, just leave her alone."

"What good will that do?"

Georgie swallowed. "Look, I just…I know that you want to punish her for what she did to you. I know you want her to suffer, to destroy her. But if you really want to accomplish any of that, killing her isn't the way to go about it. She dies, and then what? That's no punishment! She'll be unable to feel anything!"

"So what the hell do you suggest I do?"

Georgie swallowed. "You really want to destroy her, you destroy _me_. That'll ruin her, and she'll hate herself for the rest of her life."

He laughed, mocking her. "You really think she's going to sit around for the rest of her life, mourning for you? You're nothing to her, she'll get over it and move on in an instant! A woman like her is incapable of loving, what makes you think that her heart will break if you were to die? Your sacrifice will mean nothing to her, because _you're_ nothing to her."

Georgie looked at him. "Just because your mother was…somehow incapable of loving you, that doesn't mean that mine is the same. She really loves me, and I know you know that. You wouldn't have put a gun to my head that day if you didn't believe that she loved me."

He stared back at Georgie, his soulless eyes unblinking. "People heal from the greatest of tragedies. What makes you think your death will leave her so broken she'll never be able to put the pieces together?"

"I just know. The guilt, the shame…she won't heal from it. You need to trust me on this." Georgie met his intense gaze, refusing to look away, refusing to back down.

"Fine, dial her number."

"But—"

"I want her to hear everything. I want her to listen to you fall."

Georgie swallowed. "No—no, don't."

"She's already in for a lifetime of heartbreak. What difference does it make if it begins now or in a couple of hours when they find your body?"

His words hit Georgie in the heart, her heart shattering like glass. The tears that formed in her eyes fell onto her face as she looked down, digging in her pocket for her phone.

As she dialled Lou's number, she felt an overwhelming sense of thankfulness for this monster that stood in front of her. Because though he was taking everything from her, he was sparing her mother and that meant more to her than he was even capable of understanding.

As the phone rang, Georgie exhaled heavily, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat.

Lou answered quickly. " _Hello?"_

Georgie closed her eyes. "Mom?

" _Sweetheart, where are you? Hurry back, we're about to take a family photo."_

Georgie laughed sadly. "You're going to have to take this one without me."

" _Honey, what is it…? You're mad at me, aren't you?"_

"No, Mom…I'm not mad. I could never be mad at you." She trailed off, looking up at him. "Could I ask you a weird question? What would you do if…if something were to happen to me?"

There was a momentary pause. " _What kind of a question is that?"_

"Would you—would you be okay if I died? Would you be able to heal? To move on?" Georgie kept on asking ruthlessly, mercilessly. Even though she couldn't see Lou, she knew exactly what she was putting her mom through. She knew Lou couldn't bear listening to this sort of thing, that her heart was breaking into a million pieces. "Mom, what would you do if I stopped breathing, if my heart were to stop beating?" Georgie demanded, ridding her voice of any vulnerability.

" _Honey, stop it. I'm begging you, I can't listen to this. I would—I would die if something were to happen to you."_

Lou's words felt like a gut punch. "No, Mom, that's just it…I need you to stay alive. I need you to live, to breathe, for your heart to keep on beating. For me." Georgie's voice broke, a sob escaping her lips.

" _Baby, what's going on with you? Where are you?"_ The fear was evidently creeping into Lou's voice.

"It doesn't matter. Just listen to me." Georgie inhaled deeply, trying to rid herself of the aching pain in her chest. "Just listen—just listen to my voice…" She gasped out.

" _Honey, where are you?"_

"Mom, I love you. I love you, you know that…right? Promise me that you will stay alive."

" _Honey? Tell me where you are."_ Lou's voice sounded like her lungs were suddenly screaming for air to breathe, like she was being deprived of oxygen.

Georgie stifled a sob, a hand going to her mouth. She gasped soundlessly, her frame quivering and her hands shaking. "Promise me you'll stay alive, okay? You need to promise." Georgie spoke one last time into the phone. "I love you."

Georgie quickly tore the phone away from her ear and shoved it in his direction. She couldn't bear listening to Lou's voice as she realized what sort of danger her daughter was in. She couldn't even begin to scratch the surface of what was running through Lou's mind right now.

Georgie's head was spinning, the blood was pounding in her ears, not allowing her to make out what was going on at the other end of the line, but she knew that Lou was hysterical. She had to be, she was talking to him. Georgie closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. _I'm sorry, Mom. I love you. So much._

Georgie looked up, and she saw him speaking into the phone. Eventually, when he finished talking, Georgie watched as he moved the phone away from his ear. He didn't bother hanging up before tossing the phone to the ground beneath Georgie's feet.

* * *

 **A/N:** **Hiya, I apologize. I know, I'm awful at updating, but I do have my reasons xD I've been working on another fic, aaaand I keep going back and forth with this one and that new one, trying to get down as many ideas as I can, so I hope you guys can forgive me for being so slow at this. Hopefully this was worth the (long) wait.** **Pleez lemme know what you thought, reviews are much appreciated! :)**


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